Sea lion - description, habitat, lifestyle

In nature, there is a large subspecies of eared seals, including a representative that is majestic and impressive in size. It's about Steller Sea Lions. The animal is also known under another name - sea lion.

As a rule, in humans, a lion is associated with a chic mane, powerful paws. It is not for nothing that this predator is called the king of animals. But a lion is called not only him, but also another representative of the animal world, which has not powerful paws, but flippers, and not a chic mane, but thin coat. Today, this species is in danger of extinction. For this reason, the animal has recently been listed in the Red Book. German biologist G. Steller, having seen this regal huge animal with a large neck and withers, eyes of a golden edema and a thin back of the body, instantly introduced the king of animals. These representatives of the animal world have some similarities. That is why the sea lion became so called. He roars in a bass voice, for this reason no one doubts that he got his name deservedly.

Description and features of the species

Description of the sea lion is quite a lot of interest. Its size is large enough. Adult males reach a length of up to four meters, while body weight is more than 650 kilograms. There are among them gigantic representatives at all, whose weight reaches a thousand kilograms. However, there are not many such individuals. As a rule, the average length is from 2.5 to 3 meters. The dimensions of females are always more modest.

On the movable and massive neck of the Steller sea lion is a round-shaped head, the muzzle is wide, like a bulldog, the nose is slightly upturned. The eyes of small sea lions are not very noticeable. The same can be said for the ears. The fins of the animal are strong and large. The hairs on the neck and withers of males are longer and look like a scruff. Thanks to this, the male is protected from the blows of potential opponents when they fight. The color of the animal is mainly brownish with a yellow tinge. This coloring does not remain forever. It changes throughout a lifetime. Adolescent individuals are pale brown in color. As puberty approaches, the sea lion becomes brighter. The color changes due to the changing season. In winter, the sea lion darkens significantly, its color becomes more like a chocolate one. In the summer months, the color of sea lions becomes light straw.

In wool, a predominance of awns is observed. In some individuals, you can notice the sub-down, although, as a rule, it is of poor quality. The sea lion in the photo does not look very pretty, and in real life it cannot be said that he is beautiful. However, this representative of the animal world, of course, causes location and respect.

Steller sea lion. This means that the male fully copes with the needs of several females. For this reason, harems are often created in their communities, but their morals are democratic. The male is not biased and selfish. Due to this, life in the harems is quiet and measured, there are no complaints between animals. The female does not feel the need to be around her companion all the time. For her, this provides an excellent opportunity to settle on such a site of the rookery, on which he wants.

Basically, the female carries and produces one cub. When he is born, she begins to show aggression in order to protect herself and the baby from any contacts.

14 days after this, the male mates with the female, this occurs in the second half of June. At the end of next month, rookeries empty out over time and harems break up.

There are also rookeries intended exclusively for males. There are lonely individuals who, for whatever reason, did not have time to create their own harems. Their age can vary significantly - you can meet here as very young and old animals. When the breeding season ends, all males reunite in a single society.

The behavior of the sea lion on the rookery is quite calm. You can hear only at far distances their roar, reminiscent of a steep buzzer. Similar sounds are characteristic of males of mature age. The sounds that females make are more like cow mooing. Kids shout loudly and rejoicingly, it is more like a bleating sheep.

Sea lions are quite aggressive, so it's impossible to catch them alive. Animals, as a rule, fight to the end, but do not succumb, for this reason a very small number of them live in captivity. However, one unusual case is known when a lionfish began to be friends with a person and always came to that in a tent for food.

Where does the sea lion live?

Throughout his life, a lionfish either roams or is in a rookery. In winter, the animal's habitat is latitude with a warm climate, the shores of Mexico. In spring, he migrates to the Pacific coast. Here are the most suitable conditions for bearing and giving birth to cubs. The largest number of individuals is located near the western shores of Sakhalin Island. In the spring they can be found in the Tatar Strait.

Stellers try not to create numerous clusters. During the creation of harems on the coasts of rookeries, one male has five to twenty females. All harems are in their own territory. In most cases, they settle down on a flat surface and only sometimes at a slight elevation above sea level.

How do sea lions breed and how much do they live

Steller's males reach puberty at the age of eight years, in females this happens somewhat faster - in 3-5 years. In the first spring months, animals begin to breed. Males conquer territories for rookeries in fierce battles. Females come to this place. After a short postpartum period, copulation again occurs with them. The male reliably protects and protects the females from his harem.

The gestation period for a female sea lion lasts 12 months. She carefully takes care of the baby who was born and never leaves him. However, after a short period of time when the cub grows up, the female is forced to leave him in order to find food for him and herself.

By the end of spring, the cubs become large, they no longer need constant care, for this reason the harem decays and the individuals mix together.

The longevity of a sea lion is 25-30 years. Now the number of these animals is rapidly declining for unknown reasons. Some suggest that the sea lion, as well as many other representatives of the animal world, is adversely affected by the deteriorating ecology. There is also a massive destruction of Steller sea whales. In addition, sea lions can disappear because fishing vessels catch pollock and herring - the main food of Steller sea lions.