Cape Cross is a Cape Fur Seal Beach with an interesting history of a stone cross on the bleak headland – put up, in 1485, by a Portuguese captain and navigator, Diego Cão.
Fur seal kindergarden by the sea – the Cape Cross Seal Colony, in Namibia, is the breeding place of the Cape Fur Seals, which are actually a species of Sea Lion. Along the Namibian and South African coast there are 24 colonies with a seal population of about 650 000 animals. About 80 000 to 100 000 seals inhabit Cape Cross.
Fur seals are very soft!
These Fur Seals are so-named for their thick pelt. Unlike true seals which have only a thin covering of hair, Fur Seals have a thick layer of short soft fur, which is protected by a layer of longer, harder hair. The top layer gets wet, the bottom layer stays dry.
The bottom layer, as well as the fat formation under the skin give seals a good isolation against the cold Benguela current.