Native Animals History and Science
Seals of Victoria: Ocean Guardians and Coastal Storytellers
Seals are among the most charismatic and intelligent marine mammals of Victoria’s coasts. With sleek bodies, playful energy, and complex social behaviour, they have long shaped the ecology and cultural imagination of southern Australia.
For Indigenous communities, seals were food sources, spiritual kin, and guardians of Sea Country — linked to kinship, ceremony, and totems (Clark 2011; Gerritsen 2001). For colonists, they became commodities for oil and fur, hunted to near extinction by the mid-1800s (Ling 1999). Today, species such as the Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) are once again thriving along Victoria’s coastlines, celebrated as symbols of recovery and respect for marine life (Kirkwood et al. 2005).
Origins and Deep Time
Seals belong to the family Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions), a lineage that evolved more than 15 million years ago during the Miocene epoch (Ling & Bryden 1981). Their ancestors adapted to cold southern waters, developing thick blubber and flippers suited for both land and sea.
As Australia’s climate cooled and the Bass Strait formed during the Pleistocene, seals became a defining part of Victoria’s marine ecosystems. Fossil evidence and midden remains reveal that Indigenous coastal peoples have hunted and honoured seals for over 6,000 years (Clark 2011).
Deep-Time and Cultural Timeline
The story of Victoria’s seals stretches back to the Miocene epoch (15–5 million years ago), when the ancestors of modern fur seals evolved in the cool southern oceans. During the Pleistocene (2.6 million–12,000 years ago), fur and elephant seals spread through the Bass Strait region, sharing the coasts with early Indigenous communities whose knowledge of marine life shaped their seasonal movements and sea Country law. By more than 6,000 years ago, archaeological middens along Victoria’s shores record sustainable seal hunting and ceremonial use (Clark 2011). Before 1788, seals were deeply woven into cultural story, totem, and ceremony, valued for meat, oil, and hides taken with respect and restraint. With colonisation between 1798 and the 1850s, intensive sealing nearly drove populations to extinction (Ling 1999; Shaughnessy 1999). Since the early 1900s, protection under wildlife legislation has enabled remarkable recovery, with thriving colonies now at Phillip Island and Lady Julia Percy Island, symbols of renewal in both ecological and cultural terms.
Species of Seals in Victoria
Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) – The most abundant species; major colonies at Seal Rocks (Phillip Island) and Lady Julia Percy Island (Kirkwood et al. 2005).
New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) – Common visitor to western Victoria and Bass Strait (Shaughnessy 1999).
Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) – Occasional visitor from sub-Antarctic islands (Ling & Bryden 1981).
Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) – Rare Antarctic migrant sometimes seen along southern coasts (Warneke 1995).
Among these, the Australian Fur Seal is the most ecologically and culturally significant species for Victoria.
Ecology and Behaviour
Seals are powerful, adaptable marine predators and essential to ocean health:
Diet: Fish, squid, and crustaceans (Kirkwood et al. 2005).
Diving: Can dive over 200 metres for up to 7 minutes (Arnould & Hindell 2001).
Breeding: Colonies form on rocky islands; females return annually to pup (Warneke & Shaughnessy 1985).
Social Structure: Highly intelligent and social, seals display play, cooperation, and communication through sound and body language.
As top marine predators, seals help regulate fish populations and indicate overall ecosystem balance (Shaughnessy 1999).
Language and Names
Across Victoria’s coastal Nations, seals hold spiritual and linguistic significance:
Wadawurrung: Terms for seals are recorded in early colonial vocabularies (Clark 1990).
Gunditjmara: Stories link seals to Deen Maar (Lady Julia Percy Island), a sacred offshore site connected to marine spirit-beings (Clark 2011).
Palawa (Tasmania): Words such as lunnery and paywar reflect totemic and practical relationships with seals (Ryan 2012).
Revival efforts by the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL 2022) continue to reclaim marine terminology, connecting communities back to Sea Country law.
Seals in Indigenous Culture
Food and Resource
Seals provided rich nutrition and essential materials. Meat and fat were prized for energy; skins were used for cloaks, water containers, and drums (Clark 2011; Gerritsen 2001).
Totems and Kinship
Coastal families held seal totems, linking them to the ocean’s cycles. Totemic relationships dictated respectful harvesting practices and ceremonial observance (Clark 2011).
Story and Ceremony
Seals appear in stories as shape-shifters, capable of moving between land and sea, teaching lessons about transformation and respect (Clarke 2008).
Wadawurrung Sea Country
On Wadawurrung Country, seals symbolised protection, renewal, and kinship with the ocean. Songs and dances marked seasonal gatherings and reaffirmed connection to marine ancestors (Wadawurrung TOAC 2023).
Colonial History and Exploitation
Colonisation brought devastating exploitation:
Sealing Boom (1790s–1840s): Tens of thousands of seals were killed for oil and skins across Bass Strait and Phillip Island (Ling 1999; Shaughnessy 1999).
Displacement: Indigenous families were driven from coasts or forced into sealing labour (Clark 2011).
Near-Extinction: By 1850, most Victorian colonies had collapsed due to overhunting.
Sealing reflected broader patterns of colonial exploitation — environmental destruction and cultural dispossession intertwined.
Recovery and Modern Conservation
After protection laws were enacted, seals became one of Victoria’s greatest conservation success stories:
Protection: Fully protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 (Vic).
Population Recovery: More than 100,000 Australian Fur Seals now inhabit Bass Strait (Kirkwood et al. 2005).
Major Colonies: Seal Rocks (Phillip Island) hosts the largest breeding site in the Southern Hemisphere.
Eco-Tourism: Seal-watching tours contribute to local conservation awareness (Phillip Island Nature Parks 2020).
Ongoing Challenges:
Entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris (Page et al. 2004).
Shifts in prey availability due to climate change.
Disturbance from tourism and boating.
This recovery highlights the importance of combining science with Indigenous Sea Country knowledge for long-term sustainability.
Modern Science and Ecology
Modern research has deepened understanding of seal behaviour, genetics, and oceanic ecology:
Tracking and Foraging Studies: Satellite tagging shows Australian Fur Seals travel hundreds of kilometres in search of prey, linking coastal and deep-sea ecosystems (Arnould & Hindell 2001).
Genetic Analysis: Reveals strong site fidelity — females return to their birthplace to pup, reinforcing colony stability (Kirkwood et al. 2005).
Bioindicator Species: Because seals are at the top of the marine food chain, they act as indicators of pollution and fish stock health (Page et al. 2004).
Marine Management Integration: Indigenous rangers and marine scientists now collaborate to monitor seal populations, merging traditional ecological knowledge with advanced tracking technology (Wadawurrung TOAC 2023).
Together, these insights reflect the seal’s role as both scientific subject and cultural teacher.
Global and Cross-Cultural Parallels
Around the world, seals symbolise communication between worlds:
In Celtic selkie stories, seals become humans who return to the sea — a theme echoed in Victorian Indigenous tales of transformation.
Across Polynesia and the Pacific, seals and sea lions are spirit guides for ocean travellers.
Such parallels reveal shared understandings of seals as bridges between humanity and the marine realm.
Cultural Continuity and Sea Country Renewal
Contemporary Indigenous communities are revitalising connections with seals through:
Cultural tourism and storytelling programs.
Language revival documenting marine vocabulary (VACL 2022).
Co-management with Phillip Island Nature Parks and marine researchers.
These collaborations unite cultural law and modern conservation, ensuring seals remain symbols of balance and resilience.
Conclusion
Seals are living guardians of Victoria’s seas — survivors of exploitation and emblems of renewal. For Indigenous peoples, they embody strength, transformation, and connection to Sea Country. For scientists, they are key indicators of marine health.
Their resurgence at Phillip Island, Deen Maar, and the Bellarine Coast shows that recovery is possible when traditional knowledge and modern science work together. Protecting seals means protecting both the ocean’s biodiversity and the deep cultural relationships woven through it.
References
Arnould, JPY & Hindell, MA 2001, ‘Dive behaviour and diet of Australian fur seals: evidence of benthic foraging’, Marine and Freshwater Research, vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 831–839.
Clark, ID 1990, Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900, Monash Publications in Geography, Melbourne.
Clark, ID 2011, Indigenous People and Sealing in Victoria, 1800–1850, Ballarat Heritage Services, Ballarat.
Clarke, PA 2008, Aboriginal Healing Practices: Smoke, Fire and Plant Use in South-Eastern Australia, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
Gerritsen, R 2001, Australia and the Origins of Agriculture, British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.
Kirkwood, R, Pemberton, D, Gales, R & Hoskins, AJ 2005, ‘Fur seal population recovery in Bass Strait, southern Australia’, Marine Mammal Science, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 260–272.
Ling, JK 1999, ‘Exploitation of fur seals and sea lions from the eighteenth century’, in Twiss, JR & Reeves, RR (eds), Marine Mammals: Biology and Conservation, Springer, New York, pp. 38–65.
Ling, JK & Bryden, MM 1981, Southern Elephant Seal in Australian Waters, CSIRO, Melbourne.
Page, B, McKenzie, J & Goldsworthy, SD 2004, ‘Entanglement of Australian sea lions and New Zealand fur seals in lost fishing gear and other marine debris’, Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 49, pp. 33–38.
Phillip Island Nature Parks 2020, Seal Rocks Monitoring Report, Phillip Island Nature Parks, Victoria.
Ryan, L 2012, Tasmanian Aborigines: A History Since 1803, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
Shaughnessy, PD 1999, The Action Plan for Australian Seals, Environment Australia, Canberra.
VACL (Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages) 2022, Language Revival and Naming Project Reports, Melbourne.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (TOAC) 2023, Cultural Knowledge and Country Resources, Geelong.
Warneke, RM 1995, ‘Seals in Victoria’, in Shaughnessy, P & Warneke, R (eds), Seals of the Southern Hemisphere, Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.
Warneke, RM & Shaughnessy, PD 1985, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus, Mammalian Species, vol. 252, pp. 1–7.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.