Wildlife discovery: The California sea lion

The California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is a coastal sea lion of western North America. Their numbers are abundant (188,000 U.S. stock, 1995 estimate), and the population continues to expand about 5 percent annually. They are quite intelligent, can adapt to man-made environments, and even adult males can be easily trained. Because of this, California sea lions are commonly found in public displays in zoos and marine parks, used for entertainment in circuses, and trained by the US Navy for certain military operations. They grow to 850 lbs and 2.4 meters (8 ft) long, while females are significantly smaller, at 220 lbs and 2 meters (6.5 ft) long. They have pointed muzzles, making them rather dog-like. Males grow a large crest of bone on the top of their heads as they reach sexual maturity. Females are lighter in color than males, and pups are born dark, but lighten when they are several months old. When it is dry, the skin is a purple color. A sea lion’s average lifespan is 17 years in the wild, and longer in captivity. By sealing their noses shut, they are able to stay underwater for up to 15 minutes As its name suggests, the California sea lion is found mainly around the waters of California. However, they can also be found from the Alaska Panhandle in the north to Mexico in the south. California sea lions prefer to breed on sandy beaches. They usually stay no more than 10 miles out to sea. On warm days, they stay close to the water’s edge. At night or on cool days, the sea lions will move inland or up coastal slopes. California sea lions feed on a wide variety of seafood, mainly squid and fish, and sometimes even clams. Commonly eaten fish and squid species include salmon, hake, Pacific whiting, anchovies, herring, schooling fish, rock fish, lampreys, dog fish, and market squid. They feed mostly around the edge of the continental shelf sea mounts, the open ocean and the ocean bottom. Ends