Sea lions are very social mammals, they are often found in large groups on the beaches or rocky points. Unlike the seal, Sea lions can walk on all four flippers. They put the tips of their flippers on the ground and walk. Another way to tell sea lions apart from seals is that they make loud barking noises. They can swim much faster than a seal; they can reach speeds up to 25 mph. Also instead of pushing with both flippers sea lions use their front flippers like oars. They also use their teeth to chew things, they swallow it in large chunks. They can crush shells of mollusks and crustaceans with their flat back teeth.
The Caliornia Sea Lion is the most common sea lion. Sea lions get there name from the way they act the males, like African Lions fight for dominance and maintain a harem over females. The average male is 220cm long and weighs about 275kg and females that are almost 3 times as small as the males are around 180 cm and weigh about 91kg. The California Sea Lion has a tan coat but it turns a dark brown or black when wet. They have large front flippers and small hind flippers. They have a long dog like head with whiskers at there nose.Their large brown eyes have thick curved lenses allowing them to see very well under water. They have a set of eyelids to protect their eyes when on land and a third membrane eyelid to further moisten and protect their eyes.
The California Sea Lion is estimated to have a population of about 200,000. There are three species of California Sea Lions, the Zalophus Californianus Californianus which is found on the west coast of Mexico up to B.C. and is numbered at about 120,000, the Zalophus Californianus Wollebaeki which is found in the Galapagos Islands and is numbered at about 80,000, and the Zalophus Californianus Japonicus which is found in the Sea of Japan but is now extinct.
Males are polygamous and mate with females in the spring. Gestation lasts approximately one year after which a single pup is born in May or June. Females will mate again approximately 10 days after giving birth. The pup may be weaned from 5 months to a year. Healthy adults with enough food live to approx. 18 years but some have lived up to 30 years. It prefers to eat mainly fish like anchovy, whiting and herring. Though it also eats other things like squid, octupus and sometimes small sharks. Though the California Sea Lion is an opurtunistic feeder and eats what it can find during the day or night.The only known predators of the California Sea Lion are Orcas(Killer Whales) and Great White Sharks.
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