Nauticat Charters - Game Fishing| Seal Island Cruises & Trips | Corporate Functions | Hout Bay

From the spectacular upper deck of the "Nauticat", view the habitat and behaviors of these precious animals from just metres away.

THE NAUTICAT GLASS BOTTOM CAT
Nauticat Charters recently modified it's Powered Catamaran by adding "Glass Bottom" viewing panels below deck. This feature adds enormously to the thrill of visiting Seal Island, bringing the visitor Face to Face with seals and other marine wildlife in their natural habitat.

Enjoy close encounters with the seals and pups of the Cape peninsula either from the upper deck, or if you prefer to watch peacefully whilst sipping on a drink at our fully licenced bar in the comfortable saloon below.
"Nauticat" is also ideal for birdwatching as well as the other wildlife around these islands.

CAPE FUR SEALS
Cape Fur Seals have external ears and have no hair on the palms or soles of their flippers. The seal is brown in colour and appears black when wet, the pups are born black. They can grow to the size of bulls 2.5m - 300kg and cows 1.6m - 75kg. They have also been recorded to reach the ages of 30 - 40 years.the mother will select a small, rocky off-shore island as preferred breeding sites.
When pups are born, they weigh 5- 6kg, being fully furred and able to move around within a few hours. The pups are unable to swim for the first 3 - 7 weeks of age. A few days after the birth of a pup, the mother starts looking for a partner for her to have the next pup. The males are very territorial.. One bull establishes a huram of up to 50 cows. Implantation of the embryo into the uterus is delayed for about four months so that the 8 - month development leads to birth one year later.
in the water seals use their front flippers for swimming and the hind flippers for steering. Seals are very graceful in water but they are very clumsy on land. the Cape Fur Seals spend most of their lives out at sea, they eat anchovies, pilchards, octopus, rock lobster, shrimps and prawns. Seals off the South African coast consume 2 million tons of food per year, they eat 10 - 20% of their body weight per day.
The seals have a few enemies such as the fisherman who compete with the seals for fish, the shark is also an enemy and so is the killer-whale.
About 93% of the Cape Fur Seals live on the west Coast of South Africa and the remaining 7% live on the South and the South East coast. This is because of the richness of the fishing grounds on the West coast.