25 June 2010

Pinnipedia or Pinnepeds or also known as Seals, Sea lions, and Walruses. This room is specifically designed for family and friends and can sleep up to 4 people.

Some interesting facts about the pinnipeds:

They are divided into 34 species, all of which are assigned to 3 families of the mammalian order Carnivora: The Otaniidae, Phicidae and Odobenidae. The Otariids are 14 species of seal lions and fur seals. The Phicids are 19 species of true seals or also reffered to as the earless or crawling seal. Odobenids is family of single specie, the walrus.

Pinnepeds are specialized carnivores that live in a diversity of marine and freshwater habitats. One feature that unifies these groups are the fact that all must return to land or ice to give birth or breed. They spend a considerable amount of time in the water, because they are more agile there than on land. They are excellent divers and can hold their breath for a long period of time.

These animal or specie, the Cape Fur seal, was hunted by humans on Geyser rock in the 1800 of course this slaughtering is not allowed anymore. Geyser Rock is now one of the islands close to Gansbaai that forms part of the well known Shark Alley and a tourist attraction.