Sea Lion
Endangered Species
Basic Info
Name: Sea Lion
Scientific Name: Zalophus
Weight: 660 Ib.(male) 220 Ib. (female)
Length: 8 ft. (male) 6 ft. (female)
Life Span: 20-30 years
Where They Live
Sea lions haul out in large colonies on rocks and sandy shores on the Islands. They mostly live around California and around the Galapagos in warm waters.
Why is it Endangered
Introduced species, such as dogs, carry diseases that can spread to sea lions. They are vulnerable to the effects of climate change on ocean currents, which impacts their fish prey abundance. They are also victims of bycatch in fisheries.
What/why is happening
With the effects of climate change and ocean currents they have less food to eat. If there is a curtain amount of fish to eat, there will be less causing many sea lions to die off. Since 1980, the world population of sea lions has dropped from around 300,000 animals to fewer than 100,000, and it is still declining.
Future Prognosis/Human Help
Since sea lions do very well in captivity some of the efforts involve taking them to locations where they can be cared for. They can also give birth in captivity and the offspring will have a very high chance of survival.
However, it is very expensive to keep Sea Lions in captivity. Most conservation groups agree that the goal should be to protect them in the wild instead of moving more of them into captivity.