California sea lion Zalophus californianus
A life on land and in the sea.
The highly intelligent sea lion is often found sunbathing on piers, buoys or rocks along the coast.
The California sea lion in a nutshell
- eats
- fish, squid, crustaceans
- inhabits
- the Pacific coast of North America and Mexico
- excels at
- intelligence
Like a duck to water
Although sea lions were once thought to track their prey using echolocation, this does not appear to be true. They do use their highly sensitive whiskers to detect movement, however, such as that of swimming prey.
A lion’s roar
The word ‘lion’ in the sea lion’s name is a reflection of its call: a roar as impressive as that of a lion. Sea lions roar to defend their territory. During breeding season, a male sea lion gathers a harem of females around him, and then guards them over the following period. As a result, he eats nothing himself for weeks at a time.
The California sea lion is known to be inquisitive, intelligent and playful. Because they need to be challenged, they play together a great deal. They also spend a lot of time sleeping, or searching for food in the sea.
Above or below
Sea lions are highly mobile both on land and in the water. They can walk, run and climb with ease, and can swim at speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour. Sea lions have small external, streamlined ears that close while they are underwater, yet they can still hear extremely well. They can hold their breath for up to 12 minutes and dive to depths of more than 100 metres.
Threats
Although the California sea lion is not endangered, it does suffer from the effects of humans and their activities, such as plastic waste, algae growth or overfishing as these lead to the degradation of sea lion habitat.
The California sea lion has been adopted by Visma, Hellebrekers and First European.