Seven species of sea lions exist in the world. They are categorized into a group of animals that are known as pinnipeds. The modern Sea Lions body was built for marine life (life in water). They have torpedo shaped torsos that are smooth with short and thick hair, for easy land and water gliding. Their torsos are pale in colour and the rest of their body is a dark grey or dark brown, depending on the seas lion species. Their flippers are very strong and powerful, there are 2 flippers at the front and 2 at the back. Sea lions are able to lift themselves up and walk on all four flippers when they’re on land. Their flippers also have 5 ‘fingers’ and do not have claws. Sea lions have small ears found at the side of their head. Their ears are small, long flaps that point downward to avoid water getting in their ears. The weight also differs depending on the type of sea lion. However, males will usually be …show more content…
Although, this research has been done, there is no solid evidence that states that these common ancestors are absolutely a sea lions ancestor. The bear-like ancestor of this pinniped lived primarily on land. They spend a lot of time in the ocean catching their prey and bathing, etc. Therefore, since they spent so much time in the ocean, they eventually adapted to the marine environment. Sea lions, just like bears, can walk on all fours on land. Other bear to sea lion characteristics are the small downward pointing ears and the short and thick fur. The second early ancestor of the sea lion is an otter, but “Others don’t think that the Sea Lion was similar to an Otter though. Instead they believe they were more closely related to early Walrus - (sealion-world, n/a). This was also because of the water abilities and the body shape and traits. Sea lions – 20-30 million years ago, were said to be small in body form. Now, within time their characteristics altered in order to adapt to their
Lions live in groups called prides, the average adult male weighs around 400 to 500 pounds and the females 200 to 300 pounds. Irony is that in the prides the females do the majority of the hunting and provide for the group, while the males stay in their territory and provide protection and security. Lions are the only social cats, which means they look after each other unlike tigers, cheetahs etcetera which primarily live and hunt alone. Lions are mostly carnivorous animals. However like all living things, they need water but between them and a source of fresh water stands a herd of two ton wild beasts, the
California Sea Lions are found off the west coast primarily in the Channel Islands off the California coast. Males can reach up to 850 pounds,
Historically, New Zealand sea lions occupied sites all around New Zealand. The New Zealand sea lion was common throughout New Zealand until the late eighteenth century. Today, New Zealand sea lions exist mainly on two main breeding sites: the Auckland Islands, and Campbell Island. In 2010, approximately 71% of sea lion pups were born at the Auckland Islands and 29% of sea lion pups were born on Campbell Island. For sea lions, estimates of pup production are the best measure of population status and size. In early 2014, 1,575 pups were counted on the Auckland Islands.
Splish, splash! Seals majestically swimming about the ocean blue. There are many astonishing facts about seals that most people don't know. The origin of seals is surprising. Scientists believe seals may have evolved from land. Seals may have been on land for more than fifteen million years. They believe that seals appendages changed to flippers so they wouldn't become extinct when more water arose. By research, scientists have found that seals DNA is closely related to their early land ancestors. A newfound fossil, now named the Puijila darwini, may be the long sought missing link in the evolution of pinnipeds (seals). The fossil has been found in the Canadian Arctic and has been found to be over twenty million years old. The fossil had four
The seal lion population has decreased by eighty-percent. The weird thing is that there is no bodies to prove that the seal lions are gone. Some of the causes of the decrease could be fisherman, pollution, and killer whales. The sea lions could also be starving to death. The fisherman are taking all of their sources of food. But, in Alaska the sea lions are thriving and the whales are not. Thirty years ago ninety percent of the whale population was gone in Alaska. This resulted in an abundance of more krill and plankton, which lead to more pollock and herring. The sea lions ate the herring the most as it was healthier and kept them full. But, when the herring population decreased the sea lions had to eat pollock. Pollock is the “junk food
In the film we watched how scientists are trying to explain the mystery involves in the declining number of ocean lion. The scientists in Alaska are making some investigations; they already have set down some hypothesis for the disappearances of ocean lion. Their hypothesis state that the cause of the declining in number of the ocean lion can be caused by their food, the oil spill, or diseases. In this experiment, they are searching to identify the factors that are causing the premature dead of these young animals. They said because there is not body to study is hard to know what is happening to the ocean lions. For this reason, the scientists are taking some ocean lions from their natural habitat and are testing their DNA to identify any
Sea otters have been dieing at a high rate these past ten years. Scientists belive that bacteria is to blame, so it could infect our water aswell. Also, sea otters tell scientists a lot aboutother species in there enviroment, like fish, fish could be affected by otters leaving! As a matter of fact, sea otters are very smart sea mamels, if they want food, like clams, they can wedge the clams out of a tight spot, like rocks.
The sea lions currently populating the docks in Astoria Oregon may be causing serious depletion of fish as well as causing problems for the infrastructure of the docks they reside on. They are native to the California coastline but have made their way to the docks in Astoria which lies on the Columbia River. The reason this can be such a problem is because when you introduce an animal population that does not have any predators in their new habitat it can lead to overpopulation which leads to underpopulation of what they consume. In this case, the california sea lions are overpopulated and eating too many of the fish in that area of the Columbia River. The overpopulation of sea
Once they’ve reached adulthood, male sea otters weigh approximately 30 kilograms and reach a length of about 135 centimeters, while adult females typically weigh about 20 kilograms and reach a length of about 125 centimeters (Anonymous 2015). All sea otters have dense brown or golden brown fur. Sea otters are most often seen floating on their backs and either sleeping, grooming, or feeding. Grooming is necessary to keep their fur clean and to trap air bubbles for insulation since they lack a layer of blubber commonly found in other similar marine species. Their long, webbed hind paws are used for swimming while the smaller front paws are used during feeding or grooming. Their tail can be used as a rudder when swimming or diving.
The Australian Sea Lion (N. cinerea) is the only pinniped endemic to Australia (Ling 1992). Pinnipeds are highly social mammals and use vocalisations for mate selection, territory defence and mother-offspring communication (Charrier & Harcourt 2006). N. cinerea are colonial breeders, with mothers regularly leaving their pups to forage during lactation and exclusively feed their own offspring, showing high aggression to non-kin (Charrier & Harcourt 2006; Pitcher et al. 2009). A study conducted by McIntosh & Kennedy (2013), showed that 10% of pup mortality was caused by separation of mother and pup. Therefore mothers and pups must be able to recognise one another after separation intervals for success of the species.
The Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea of family Otariidae is the sole extant species of its genus and the only endemic pinniped found in Australian waters, ranging from coastal Western Australia to Southern Australia (Kirkwood & Goldsworthy 2013; Lowther et al. 2012). Unique in its non-annual, temporally asynchronous breeding cycle across adjacent colonies, prolonged breeding and lactation period, extreme female site fidelity, and natal philopatry, the Australian sea lion is thus considered one of the world’s rarest non-migratory otariids (Kirkwood & Goldsworthy 2013; Campbell 2005). The innate philopatry nature coupled with its geographically
Did you know, that sea otters hold hands with other sea otters when they sleep, so they don’t drift apart? Well it is safe to say that a sea otter is not an ordinary animal and that is why they have a very interesting way of living.It is common that when a sea otter is fully grown, it gets thick brown fur which makes it an easy target for hunting, which is another example of why sea otters are becoming extinct.
Without a doubt, lions have strong physical qualities. One, in particular, is the lions’ amazingly strong forepaws. So strong and powerful that a lion could kill a hyena in just one blow. Also, a lion’s muscular body has less bone mass compared to the other animals, which makes it responsible for its graceful movements. Each of their paws is equipped with soft pads, making them soundless as they move. A lions’ eyes are well-adapted in low light, an advantage for them to go hunting at night. A
The Galapagos sea lion is native to the Galapagos Islands. The only other place they are known
Did you know a male lion’s roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. Lions mainly live in woodlands,grasslands, and some desserts; vary in size greatly. The average male lion can weigh up to 400lbs where as female lions can weigh up to 280lbs. Also, both female and male are about 4 feet tall however, different length. The male lion can be as long as a little more than 6 feet long while as the female lion can be under 6 feet long. (Lengths do not include the tail) The African lion had four legs and consumes a variety of animals including: Zebra, buffalo, antelope, wildebeests, wild hogs,hares, birds, Impalas, amphibians, fish, giraffes, gazelles, ostrich eggs, reptiles, and rodents.A female lion can produce up to 1-4 cubs at one time. A life cycle