Answer
The total number of fur seal pups in the rookery is approximately equal to 20489.
Work Step by Step
Consider the proportion relation between the pups tagged and observed in early August and late August. This forms the proportion relation as,
$\frac{p}{900}=\frac{4963}{218}$
Here, $p$is the total number of fur seal pups in the rookery.
Solve the above equation.
$\begin{align}
& p=\frac{4963\times 900}{218} \\
& =20489.449
\end{align}$
This shows that the total number of fur seal pups in the rookery is approximately equal to 20489.
