According to the scientific classification, sea lions belong to the Eared Seals family. But in their appearance and way of life, they are significantly different from their closest relatives. That is, from elephant seals and seals. Who are they - these predatory mammals? And what does the ocean dweller have in common with the large feline that live in the savannah? The answer to this question is quite simple: in mature males, the fur on the collar is longer than on the rest of the body, which makes a distant resemblance to the mane of an African predator.
It is believed that sea lions live only in the southern hemisphere. There are three species there - according to habitat: Australian, New Zealand and southern, found off the coast of Africa and Latin America. But north of the equator, such animals are also common. This is a California lion and a sea lion. And if the first species is not much different from its southern counterparts (because it lives in the subtropics and there is no need for it to accumulate reserves of subcutaneous fat), then the sea lion has occupied a niche in the rather high latitudes of the
Northern Hemisphere. He lives in Russia on the Kuril Islands, in
the Sea of Okhotsk, on Kamchatka, Sakhalin. It can also be found on the Commander and
Aleutian Islands, Alaska and the coast of North America right up to California.
Sea lions, unlike other seals, are amazingly graceful creatures. Even on land, they are quite active and deftly move, and in water they even show the wonders of circus acrobatics. Their skin is brown, with a rather short fur. This unattractive coat and meager reserves of fat saved the appearance of sea lions from extermination by people. Hunting them is not as profitable as seals and other seals, although the endemic species of these animals was completely destroyed in Japan. A streamlined body, strong flippers, a flattened small head with small, slightly convex beautiful eyes allow the lion to dive to a depth of 90 meters and pursue schools of fish at high speed.
These animals can spend days on the high seas. However, sea lions do not like long migrations. We can say that these are settled animals, not moving away from their beach at a distance of more than 25 km. They hunt for fish, crustaceans, mollusks. In turn, sea lions become prey for killer whales and white sharks. Settled in colonies, but not as numerous as other eared seals. Their males are also more peaceful - all fights behind the harem are conducted, as a rule, "before the first blood." Females are aggressive only in the first days after birth. Young growth has golden fur and feeds on breast milk for up to six months. Females become sexually mature in the third year of life, and males in the fifth. But only at the age of seven, a lion cub acquires a mane and can defend its harem. A sea lion (a photo of him here) is much larger than his graceful girlfriend: 300 kilograms of live weight against some 90 kg of lady.
These animals have extremely developed mental activity. They are quick-witted, inventive, well tamed and amenable to training. This, as well as innate agility and grace, make them permanent actors in aquariums and dolphinariums. Therefore, most of us from childhood know what a sea lion looks like. And in conditions of free life, the flocks of these seals are saved from their natural enemies - sharks and killer whales - by staying close to people, settling in marinas, ports and even navigation buoys.