Within a month of giving birth, females are ready to mate again. Pups are born dark and will molt the dark coat around 4 to 5 months old and become lighter. Pups are usually weaned by 6 months, although some may nurse for up to one year. Mother and pup sea lions have a special set of vocalizations to communicate that are unique to the particular female and her pup. They also have a unique scent that identifies which pup is hers. Among hundreds of pup vocalizations, a female can locate her pup and does a final smell check to confirm the pup belongs to her.
Mother sea lions nurse for days, then leaves the pup ashore to head offshore to feed for days. If you see a pup on the shore, please leave it be and do not disturb it. If it looks to be in distress, call the nearest marine mammal stranding network. Adult California sea lions are usually solitary, except during the breeding season from May to June. They are social animals in both in the water and on land and can become aggressive while defending territories. Females will fight with other females to protect their pups in the breeding grounds.
California sea lion males will bark, sounding like dogs, in order to communicate with other males and females.
California sea lions feed mainly in upwelling areas on a variety of prey, including mainly fish. They eat over fifty species of fish such as anchovies, mackerel, and rockfish, as well as squid, octopus and mollusks.
Learn more about how to safely and responsibly view seals and sea lions. Learn more about the rules on feeding and harassing marine mammals in the wild. California sea lions can get entangled in fishing gear, causing injury and possibly death. NOAA Fisheries is working to better understand and characterize the frequency, geographic extent, and magnitude of these interactions. We are also working with researchers to find and study ways to safely and effectively make these interactions less likely.
Learn more about bycatch and fisheries interactions. We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings including all pinnipeds. When stranded animals are found dead, our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death.
Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes attribute strandings to disease, harmful algal blooms, vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, pollution exposure, and underwater noise. Some strandings can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare. California Sea Lions have been part of declared unusual mortality events in the past. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act , an unusual mortality event is defined as "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response.
Get information on active and past UMEs. Get an overview of marine mammal UMEs. We use the results to inform management decisions and recovery efforts for this depleted species. Determining the number of California sea lions in each population—and whether a stock is growing or shrinking over time—helps resource managers assess the success of conservation measures.
Our scientists collect information and present these data in annual stock assessment reports. California sea lions on the move. NOAA scientists conduct wide-ranging research on the biology, life history, and health of California sea lions including:. Learn more about what our scientists are working on. Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Don't harm your fishery for all. Shooting seals and sea lions is against the law unless you are an…. California Sea Lion Zalophus californianus. Throughout Its Range. Quick Facts Weight. Entanglement in fishing gear, Biotoxins resulting from harmful algal blooms, Human-caused injuries, Disease. See Regulatory Actions. Entanglement One of the main threats to California sea lions is getting caught in fishing gear.
Biotoxins from Harmful Algal Blooms Under the right conditions, algae can grow out of control. Human-Caused Injuries and Mortalities California sea lions are easy to view in the wild, but this puts them at higher risk of human-related injuries and death. Our work supports protection and conservation by: Reducing interactions with commercial fishing gear. Minimizing harassment and illegal feeding.
Responding to dead, injured, or entangled sea lions. Encouraging responsible viewing of wild sea lions. Minimizing the effects of vessel disturbance and other types of human impacts.
Science Our research has found new aspects of California sea lion biology, behavior, and ecology and helped us understand the challenges that sea lions face. Our research includes: Assessing abundance, survival, and birth rates and how they change over time as the population grows. Monitoring food habits and foraging ecology to understand the role of sea lions in the coastal and offshore marine ecosystem under different environmental conditions.
How You Can Help. Keep Your Distance. Report Marine Life in Distress. Report a Violation. Featured News. West Coast. View More News. Another key difference between males and females is that male sea lions are much larger—reaching up to to pounds and 7 feet in length.
Females grow to to pounds and up to 6 feet in length. These sea lions have a dog-like face, and starting at 4 years old, males develop a bony bump on top of their skull known as a sagittal crest, which is fully developed by 7 years old. Another distinctive physical characteristic is their external ear flaps. Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Download the audio file. He was brought to our hospital where our expert veterinary team determined Bluegrass had been shot.
Bluegrass underwent intensive surgery and was left with only one eye. But sea lions are known to thrive in the wild with just one eye as their other senses, like smell and hearing, help compensate. California sea lions are coastal animals found from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to the southern tip of Baja California in Mexico. In fact, there was a third population of sea lions in the Sea of Japan, but they became extinct around the time of World War II.
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