Fur seals of all ages littered the beach causing us to be on our guard from the very beginning of our hike to the King Penguin colony. Fur seals live most of their lives at sea coming to shore mainly during the breeding and mating season.

Young fur seal, Fortuna Bay

The adult fur seals were not so much a problem. If you kept your distance (supposedly 15 feet, difficult to do) stayed big and scary looking they pretty much left you alone. The little ones such as this guy and the even smaller newborn pups were always looking to flex their muscle. Stare them down, not a problem. Once you passed though all bets were off. Usually just as you were focusing on the next potential encounter you would hear a growl, a few huff huffs, then you would hear the charge. Act fast, turn, puff up, raise arms, yell, wave your pole, camera or whatever at them. Then quickly recover and make sure you were not stepping into the path of the next.