Bester, Marthan NieuwoudtRossouw, G.J.Van Staden, Paul Jacobus2025-04-152025-04-152024-05Bester, M.N., Rossouw, G.J., Van Staden, P.J. 2024, 'Contest competition and injury in adult male sub-Antarctic fur seals', Journal of Ethology, vol. 42, pp. 123-130. https://DOI.org/10.1007/s10164-024-00811-x.0289-0771 (print)1439-5444 (online)10.1007/s10164-024-00811-xhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/102089DATA AVAILABILITY : All data generated and analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.We recorded intra-sexual behaviour of adult male sub-Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis at Gough Island, Southern Ocean, during the 1975/76 summer breeding season. Our re-analysed data address male ‘contest competition’, which relates to the costs of intra-sexual disputes, including fights. We considered the risks/benefits of fighting through investigation of injuries (n = 353) sustained by adult males (n = 124) in fights. Injuries were predominantly on the forequarters, especially around the insertion areas of the front flippers (41%) with its sparse pelage, compared to the neck and chest areas combined (29%), an area which is well protected by thick pelage. The infliction of serious, sometimes debilitating, injuries to competitors increases a male’s access to females. Injuries predominate in injured, defeated males that gather at non-breeding sites, suggesting that injuries inflicted by dominant males were successful in excluding competing males from breeding sites.en© The Author(s) 2024. Open access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Body areasBreeding seasonFur sealsOtariidaePinnipediaPhysical injuryReproductive successTerritory defenceSub-Antarctic fur seals (SAFS)Sub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis)SDG-15: Life on landSDG-14: Life below waterArticle