Cape Fur Seals in Plett

Find out what's happening with the Cape fur seal population and the rabies outbreak in Plett. Senior marine field ranger for Cape Nature, Chanel Visser, is on Robberg and the beaches almost daily, monitoring and working with the scientists who are analysing and searching for answers to the serious disease that has emerged in seals along the South African coastline. 

Hear about the implementation of management interventions in Plettenberg Bay, the setting up a local rabies task team, which includes conservation authorities, scientists, state veterinarians, municipal beach control and tourism operators. Implementation of data recording and monitoring procedures within the Robberg Cape fur seal colony. Chanel recounts the history of rabies case definitions and incidents recorded in the Plettenberg Bay and Knysna area, including how many positive and negative rabies cases we have recorded.

Each session consists of 20-minute presentations, followed by a joint Q&A session of 15 minutes.

ABOUT CHANEL VISSER

Chanel grew up surrounded by nature, spending time in the bush and at the sea. She pursued her passions by moving to the Garden Route from Johannesburg and studied nature conservation upon finishing school. Her career began in her third and final year as a student, working in marine conservation, research and education right here in Plettenberg Bay. She went on to manage the programme where she had completed her practical studies, and continued to expand on her experience in the marine conservation field, working at multiple organisations in different places over the past eleven years.

Her journey and job titles have included: marine guide, volunteer co-ordinator and manager, seabird rehabilitator, wildlife rehabilitation manager, camino hiking guide, conservation manager in the Seychelles, yacht stewardess, skipper, marine research technician, and currently:  CapeNature's Senior Marine Field Ranger for Robberg and Keurbooms Nature Reserves, since 2021.

Chanel has recently expanded her knowledge and experience in Cape fur seal research and management. At the 2024 African Conservation Awards, she was awarded Best Marine Ranger in Africa.