How long will they dive for?

Seals can hold their breath for a long time. Mostly, they perform dives that are well within their comfort zone. If they undertake a particularly long dive, it takes them longer to recover before they can dive again.

Most dives recorded for Australian Fur Seals have been three to four minutes long. The longest dives recorded for an Australian Fur Seal is six to seven minutes. Scientists believe that Australian Fur Seals may be able to hold their breath for over 10 minutes.

After each dive, a seal usually spends a couple of minutes near the surface recovering before diving again, the time it takes for a seal to dive and then to recover at the surface before the next dive is called a dive-cycle. A typical dive-cycle for an Australian Fur Seal is about four minutes.