Although the maned seal or South American sea lion (Ottaria flavescens) is a non-endangered species(IUCN - Red List: not endangered), some reports from researchers in South America in recent years have led to the status of individual seal populations being reconsidered. Maned seals are an aquatic species known to interact with human activities. Especially in the areas of fishing, aquaculture and tourism.
Due to these interactions, it is increasingly common for seals to either die in fishing nets as bycatch or to be deliberately killed because they damage the nets of fish farms, causing immense economic damage to the fishermen. Tourism has had the effect of changing the animals' habitat in such a way that they have to look for new areas.
In response to this problem, YAQU PACHA, in cooperation with Heidelberg Zoo, Amneville Zoo and the Dutch Zoo Association (NVD), provided financial support for an initial workshop on the status of this seal species in 2009. Recommendations from this workshop include numerous measures such as monitoring the colonies throughout their range, identifying management areas and determining the total population as well as the threat posed by fishing.
The aim of YAQU PACHA and the above-mentioned partners in the seal project is to support these studies of South American sea lions in the long term in order to develop protection measures at an early stage.
YAQU PACHA has been working with various partners in South America and Latin America for 30 years to protect aquatic mammal species. You can support our projects with a donation or membership. You can also find out more about our work in our videos.
Sea otters | Information on seals | Report on our workshop Day 2 | Species protection | Animal species that YAQU PACHA is working to protect | Manatee project