Sea lion predator. Sea lions information. See what "Sea Lion" is in other dictionaries

Streamlined, bulky, but flexible and slender, in comparison with other species of seals, the body of this mammal is capable of reaching a length of two or more meters.

This figure eloquently testifies to the impressive sea ​​lion size. As for weight, the males are especially massive, impressive with three hundred kilograms of live flesh. True, sea lionesses are three times smaller than the representatives of the male half.

The usual color of animals is dark or black-brown. How can you be sure of sea ​​lion photo, the head of these water creatures is small; muzzle, like that of a dog, elongated, with thick whiskers, called vibrissae.

The animal's eyes are slightly protruding, large sizes. Males that have reached maturity are distinguished by a significantly developed cranial crest, outwardly looking like a large crest. In addition, males are adorned with a short mane, formed on the neck with more overgrown hair than females.

Description of the sea lion it is impossible to consider complete, without the last of the mentioned signs, since it was he who became the reason for the name of this beast, which is very accurate in fact, given that lions sea ​​depths make sounds resembling a hoarse growl, but in their voices there is somewhat less roar than that of fur seals.

The neck of animals is flexible and long enough. Their pinnipeds, flattened limbs with movable paws allow them to move quickly enough on land, which distinguishes them from clumsy ones.

However, the coat of sea lions does not impress with its special density, besides, it is quite short, therefore it is considered worse in quality and less valued than that of relatives in the family.

Sea lion lifestyle and habitat

Biologists distinguish five types of such animals. One of them refers northern sea lion, also called sea lion. This beast is decorated with a golden mane and a massive withers. The weight of males of this species reaches 350 kg.

Rookeries of sea lions spread almost along the entire coast of the Pacific Ocean and nearby islands. They meet in the waters Far East, Japan, USA and Canada. Talking about this species, it is important to mention that they are considered rare and need protection.

The southern sea lion is a frequenter of the shores and ocean waters of the New World, located on the other side of the equator. This species is interesting for the impressive difference in size between pinniped lions and lionesses.

Male specimens are sometimes about three meters long, while their girlfriends are much smaller. Representatives of the species have a light brown color and do not have a mane.

Sea lion rookery

Inhabitants northern waters Pacific Ocean are representatives of the California variety. Such creatures are distinguished by a particularly outstanding intellect and are easy to train.

Indigenous peoples of the New World have hunted these animals for centuries, seduced by their meat, fat and skins. And with the arrival of Europeans on the continent, mass crafts soon began, from which the situation of animals worsened. But at present, there are strict restrictions on the capture and hunting of these representatives of the fauna.

Individuals of the Australian variety, depending on sex, differ greatly in body color. Males stand out with a dark brown hue, while females are lighter, and often even boast a silver-gray coat color. Another species of these animals is in dire need of protection. Scientists believe that once the New Zealand sea lions were found in nature much more often than now.

But having become a victim of industrial development in the century before last, their population has undergone significant reductions. And in some places of the former habitat, for example, on the Auckland Islands, similar view was completely destroyed.

All types of described pinnipeds differ in impressive mental faculties, as evidenced by their highly developed, certain parts of the brain. Animals are quite mobile in water, which is the main sea ​​lion habitat where they are able to show real miracles of acrobatics.

These are, for the most part, the inhabitants of the southern hemisphere, found on open coasts at the foot of the oceans and seas, on sandy and rocky beaches, in thickets of seaweed.

Spending their lives in warm water, they do not need significant reserves of fat, so they have almost no fat layer. This circumstance, as well as the low quality of their wool, made hunting for the animal economically unprofitable, which saved them from mass destruction.

However, many species of sea lions, as already mentioned, still need special protection. These also include, in addition to those already listed, and one of the subspecies of the Californian - Galapagos sea lion.

The mode of existence of such creatures is herd, and the accumulations of animals in natural environment extremely numerous. On land, they spend a lot of time, but it happens that they go out into the open ocean.

While swimming, their forelimbs move quite actively. Rowing in this way, animals move in the water space of the ocean. Usually they roam for distances not exceeding 25 km, and do not make seasonal migrations.

The enemies of animals in nature are and, which they are regularly attacked. curious information O sea ​​lions and the proof of them is very developed intellect there are separate facts about the appeal of these representatives of the fauna for protection from the attack of predators to people who are on ships and yachts passing by.

Sea lion food

The described marine animals are capable of diving to a depth of one hundred meters or more, jumping down from a twenty-meter height. Moving in such conditions with extreme ease and the beauty of a bird's flight in the sky, they hunt fish and crustaceans, eat molluscs, and often raid their prey in common. This is especially useful when large schools of fish appear.

The foregoing indicates that sea ​​lion eating by what the deep sea sends him, but his diet should be more fully described depending on the habitat.

For example, sea lions often feed on: small herring, pollock and capelin, larger halibut and greenlings, numerous varieties of gobies and, as well as perch, salmon, gerbils and other fish living in the seas.

To this should be added cephalopods and, in some cases, they feed on seaweed and even sharks. And male southern sea lions eat not only octopus and squid, but also hunt penguins. Often they take part of the fishermen's catch, spoiling their nets.

Reproduction and lifespan of the sea lion

IN mating season, which occurs once a year on the shore in rookeries, sea lions behave much calmer than, for example, fur seals or elephants. Occupying a certain area and protecting its borders from the encroachments of strangers, male sea lion although he often gets into fights with rival relatives, defending his rights to a harem, sometimes consisting of a dozen, and often more, females, but fierce bloody battles it usually doesn't happen.

Pictured is a sea lion with a cub

True, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, young male southern sea lions, when they become adults, patrol the harems of the older generation in search of mates. As a result of such sorties, very violent skirmishes often occur, and the losers receive bloody deep wounds.

In the harem, individuals that do not participate in breeding usually stay along the edges of the site, occupying a separate place in the rookery. A female sea lion after mating, they carry their cubs for a whole year in order to immediately become pregnant again and, after a year, again produce offspring.

The owner of the harem vigilantly ensures that his favorites do not stare at the side and have no relationship with rivals. But they themselves, meanwhile, are ready to do it at any moment, constantly looking at the property of other males.

Pictured is a baby sea lion

Sea lion cubs immediately after birth have golden fur and about 20 kg of weight. For the first few days, they do not leave their mothers who protect them. But after the next mating, which can occur a week after giving birth, they begin to gradually lose interest in the cubs and go to sea for a long time in search of food. However, sea lion mothers continue to feed their offspring with milk, which has up to 30% fat content, for about six months.

Gradually, the young begin to stray into their own groups and thus learn the wisdom of life, growing up to puberty in bachelor packs. Before males, females mature, adjoining the harem of any of the husbands aged two to three years.

Males, competing among themselves for the attention of the chosen ones, have a harder time in search of an opportunity to get the coveted harem, so they acquire their own females no earlier than the age of five. On average, the lifespan of sea lions is about two decades.

Sea lions are members of the family eared seals. There are only 5 types of sea lions in the world - northern, southern, New Zealand, Australian and California. All of them are quite similar both to each other and to fur seals, which are their closest relatives.

Like all pinnipeds, sea lions have a streamlined body, a small head, and flattened, flipper-like limbs. But there are also some differences. The body of these animals is relatively more slender and flexible than that of other seal species. The neck is also relatively long and very flexible, the legs are very mobile and sea lions move quite dexterously even on land (which cannot be said about other seals). In the water, they show real miracles of acrobatics. The skull of these animals has a well-defined brain region, the eyes are large, slightly bulging. On the face of sea lions, you can see thick vibrissae (they are often called whiskers). In general, sea lions are the most agile and intelligent of all pinnipeds. The wool of these animals also differs in quality from the fur of other seals, it is short and less dense. On the neck of males, the hair is longer and forms a kind of short mane, for which they got their name. The fur of sea lions is not valued as much as the fur of fur seals. The color of these animals is dark brown, often almost black. The body length can reach up to 2 m, and the weight of large males up to 300 kg. Females are much smaller, their weight is only 90 kg.

Sea lions are inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere. They can be found on the coast South America, Australia, New Zealand and only the California sea lion has moved north to the subtropical zone. All types of sea lions settle on the open coasts of the seas and oceans, and are found both on rocky and sandy beaches and even in grass thickets. Thanks to their intelligence and general mobility, these animals have even mastered cultural landscapes.

Like all eared seals, sea lions lead a gregarious lifestyle, but their aggregations are not as numerous and crowded as those of fur seals. Animals often go to the open ocean, where they can spend whole days without leaving the land, so it is not uncommon to meet a sea lion at a great distance from the coast. However, sea lions do not make seasonal migrations, but roam within 5-25 km from the coast. Between themselves, sea lions communicate using various sounds, but their voices have less roar and growl than fur seals.

Sea lions feed on fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. They find mollusks at the bottom, diving for this to a depth of 90 m, and they pursue fish with great dexterity. In the water, these animals move like birds, actively rowing with their forelimbs. Since sea lions live in more warm waters than most pinnipeds, they do not accumulate large reserves of fat.

Breeding occurs once a year, but the rut of sea lions is calmer than that of elephant seals or seals. Males occupy permanent sites on the coast, the boundaries of which are protected from alien invasion. Sometimes males get into fights with each other, but they are never as fierce as those of elephant seals and seals. Each male gathers around him a harem of 10-12 females. Non-breeding individuals keep separately along the edges of the rookery. Pregnancy of females lasts a year. Females give birth to cubs in the harem and immediately mate with males again. Sea lion cubs are born with golden fur. For the first few days, the mother stays with the baby inseparably, after mating with the male, she begins to go to sea. Feeding in sea lions, unlike other related species, is long, the female feeds the cub with milk for 5-7 months.

After the first molt, the young grow into a separate group. Future life the young pass in such bachelor herds until the animals become sexually mature. Females begin to breed in the third year of life, and males, due to high competition, acquire harems only by the age of 5-7 years. Sea lions live for about 20 years.

In nature, sea lions are attacked by sharks and killer whales, some animals die when they collide with ships. Interestingly, the natural intelligence of lions is used by them to protect themselves from predators. There is a known case when a sea lion, having encountered a killer whale in the open sea, approached the yacht. An absolutely wild animal demonstrated to people that it needed help and asked for protection.

Sea lions are the few animals that have escaped the fate of mass destruction. The low economic benefit from the extraction of sea lions saved these animals from fishing. In California, the number of these animals even increased. At the same time, some subspecies of sea lions (the Auckland New Zealand sea lion) need protection due to being forced out of their haulouts by humans.

sea ​​lions- large pinnipeds from the family of eared seals.

Sea lions include 5 species - these are the southern, northern, California, Australian and New Zealand sea lions.
All these animals are very similar in appearance - their body has a streamlined shape, their paws are modified into flippers, their eyes are large, and on the muzzle there are sensitive whiskers - bristles resembling a mustache. The weight of adult males can reach 300 kg, the body length is 2 meters, and on the neck there is a kind of mane formed by thicker and longer hair, it is thanks to this mane that sea lions got their majestic name. Females are usually smaller and lighter than males, their weight does not exceed 90 kg. The coat of sea lions is short and not too thick, the color varies from dark brown to black.

Spreading

Sea lions live mainly in the southern hemisphere of our planet. The names of these animals also speak about this. They can be found on the coast of New Zealand, South America and Australia. Sea lions prefer to settle on sea and ocean coasts.

Nutrition

The diet of sea lions consists of seafood - shellfish, fish and various crustaceans. These animals are excellent swimmers and divers. To get their own food, they are able to dive to a depth of 90 m and swim at high speed.

Lifestyle

Sea lions are collective animals. They live in small herds on the coasts of the seas and oceans. They do not migrate, but permanently live in one place. They can only occasionally roam for short distances (from 5 to 25 km) in search of more fishing spots.

Once a year, males arrange fights, but they are not distinguished by great cruelty. Females gather around the strongest males, forming a kind of harem. A harem can consist of one male and 12 females.

The female's pregnancy lasts a whole year. Babies are born with a light coat that darkens during subsequent molts. For the first few days, the mother does not leave the cub at all, looks after him and feeds him with milk. Milk feeding in sea lions lasts for a long time - from 5 to 7 months, thanks to which the cubs grow strong and healthy.

When the cubs grow up, they stray into their youth group. Sea lions become adults at about three years of age. Sea lions can live up to 20 years.

• Typically, sea lions have a hoarse and rough voice. But in Japan, in one of the oceanariums, there lives a sea lion, which has a beautiful gentle voice. Many animal lovers come to listen to his songs.
• These animals communicate with each other using a whole range of different sounds.
• Sea lions are very smart.

Sea lions brief information.

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The sea lion is a large and majestic animal from the eared seal family. It received its second name in the 18th century, when the German explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller, seeing for the first time this huge seal with a massive withers and neck resembling a mane from afar and hearing its bass roar, compared it in his notes with a lion. Subsequently, this species, in honor of its discoverer, became known as Steller's northern sea lion.

Description of the sea lion

The sea lion is the largest animal from the subfamily of sea lions, which, in turn, belongs to the family of eared seals. This is a powerful, but at the same time, and graceful animal that lives in the north of the Pacific region, in the past it was a valuable commercial species, but now hunting for sea lions has been completely stopped.

Appearance

The size of adults of this species, depending on gender, can reach 300-350 cm in males and 260 cm in females. The weight of these animals is also significant: from 350 to 1000 kg.

The head of the sea lion is rounded and relatively small in relation to the strong and powerful neck and massive body. The muzzle is wide, slightly upturned, vaguely resembling the muzzle of a pug or bulldog. The ears are low set, round and very small in size.

The eyes are dark, rather bulging, widely spaced, not too large, but at the same time expressive. The color of the eyes of the sea lion is brownish, mostly dark shades.

The nose is a couple of tones darker than the main color of the coat, large, with wide nostrils in the form of an elongated oval. Vibrissae are long and rather rigid. In some large individuals, their length can reach 60 cm.

The body is spindle-shaped, thick and massive in the anterior part, but strongly tapering downwards. The flippers are strong and powerful, allowing the animal to move on land, leaning on them and necessary for swimming in the sea.

The coat is short and harsh, from a distance it looks soft and plush, but, in fact, it is quite prickly and consists mainly of an awn. The undercoat, if present, is neither too thick nor of sufficient quality. Hard hairline protects the sea lion's body from sharp stones when moving on land. On the skin of these animals, you can often see areas with frayed hair, which is precisely the result of the contact of the skin of sea lions with an uneven rocky surface.

Males of this species have a kind of mane on the neck, formed by elongated hair. The mane of the sea lions is not only a decorative “decoration” and a sign of the courage of its owner, but also protective device, protecting males from serious bites of rivals during fights.

The body color of Steller's northern sea lions depends on the age of the animal and the time of year. Sea lions are born almost black; in adolescence, the color of their fur coat becomes light brown. As the animal grows older, the fur of the animal brightens even more. IN winter time year, the color of the sea lions becomes similar to the color of milk chocolate, in the summer it brightens to a straw color with a slight brownish tinge.

The color of the coat, as a rule, is not entirely uniform: on the body of the animal there are areas of different shades of the same color. So, usually, the upper part of the body of the sea lions is lighter than the lower one, and the flippers, noticeably darkening already near the base, darken down to a blackish-brown color. At the same time, some adults of this species look noticeably darker than others, which, most likely, is their individual feature, not related to either sex, age, or habitat.

Behavior, lifestyle

The annual cycle in the life of these animals is divided into two periods: nomadic, also called nomadic, and rookery. At the same time, during the nomadic period, sea lions do not go far into the sea and always return to the shore after short and short-range migrations. These animals are strongly attached to certain areas of their habitat and try not to leave them for a long time.

In early spring, when the breeding season comes, the sea lions come ashore in order to have time to occupy the best sites on the rookery. First, only males appear on the shore, between which the division of the territory takes place on the haulout. Having occupied a suitable part of the haulout, each of them guards its site from the encroachments of rivals, warning them with an aggressive roar that the owner will not give up his territory without a fight.

Females appear later, in late spring or early summer. Near each of the adult males, a harem of several (usually 5-20 females) is formed. As a rule, sea lions equip rookeries on a flat surface and only sometimes - at a height of 10-15 meters above sea level.

At this time, animals also continue to zealously protect their territory, often showing aggression towards rivals.

In addition to "family" harems, sea lions also have "bachelor" rookeries: they are formed by young males who have not yet reached the age suitable for breeding. Sometimes they are joined by males who have become too old and no longer have the opportunity to resist younger rivals, as well as sexually mature males, who for some reason did not have time to acquire a harem.

On the rookery, males of the sea lion behave uneasily: they roar, and their roar, reminiscent of a lion's roar or a steamer's whistle, spreads far over the surroundings. Females and cubs also make different sounds: the roar of the former is similar to the lowing of a cow, and the cubs bleat like sheep.

Sea lions show distrust towards people and can even be aggressive. It is practically impossible to capture this animal alive, as they fight to the last. That is why sea lions are almost never kept in captivity. However, a case is known when Steller's northern sea lion made friends with people and even came to their tent for a treat.

How long do sea lions live

The life expectancy of sea lions is approximately 25-30 years.

sexual dimorphism

Males of this species are noticeably larger than females: males can be 2 or even almost 3 times heavier than females and be almost twice as long.

The bones of females are lighter, the body is thinner, the neck and chest are narrower, and the heads are more graceful and not as round as those of males. The mane of elongated hair on the neck and nape of females is absent.

Another gender difference is the sounds that these animals make. The roar of males is louder and more resonant, resembling a lion's roar. The females moo like cows.

Range, habitats

In Russia, sea lions can be found on the Kuril and Commander Islands, Kamchatka and in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In addition, northern sea lions are found throughout almost the entire North Pacific. In particular, they can be seen off the coast of Japan, Canada and the United States.

Sea lions prefer to settle in coastal subarctic waters, in areas with cool and temperate climate. Occasionally, during their migrations, they swim south: in particular, they were seen off the coast of California.

Coming ashore, sea lions set up rookeries on flat areas located close to reefs and rocks, which are natural barriers to storm waves or allow animals to hide between heaps of stones during the revelry of the sea element.

The diet of the sea lion

The basis of the diet is mollusks - both bivalves and cephalopods: such as squid or octopus. Also, they eat sea lions and fish: herring, capelin, greenlings, sea ​​bass, cod, gobies.

Pursuing prey, the sea lion can dive to a depth of 100-140 meters, and, seeing a school of fish from the shore, dive into the water from a steep bank 20-25 meters high.

Reproduction and offspring

The mating season for Steller's northern sea lions begins in the spring. At this time, they leave the sea and, having gone out on land, form harems there, when several females gather around one male. During the division of the territory preceding the formation of harems, bloody fights and seizures of foreign territory are not complete. But after the females appear on the shore, the struggle for the best parts of the rookery stops. The males, who did not have time to seize the territory for themselves, are removed to another rookery organized by males those who did not find females, those who remained in a common haulout begin the breeding season.

The female sea lion bears offspring for about a year, and the next spring, a few days after arriving at the rookery, she gives birth to one rather large cub, whose weight already reaches about 20 kg. A baby at birth is covered with short dark or, less commonly, sandy-colored hair.

Cubs or, as they are also called, puppies of the sea lion look quite attractive: they have rounded heads with wide-set expressive eyes, a shortened, slightly upturned muzzle and small round ears, making them look a bit like teddy bears.

Within a week after the birth of the cub, the female mates with the male again, after which she returns to caring for the already existing baby. She feeds and diligently protects him from strangers, and therefore, at this time she is quite aggressive.

Males, as a rule, do not show hostility to cubs. But sometimes there are also cases of cannibalism among sea lions, when adult males eat other people's puppies. Scientists find it difficult to say why this happens: perhaps the fact is that these adults, for some reason, cannot hunt in the sea. Also among possible causes behavior that is so atypical for sea lions is also called mental deviations that occur in individual animals of this species.

Harems break up in the middle of summer, after which the cubs live and hunt together with their parents in a common herd.

Before three months females teach them to swim and get food on their own, after which the young sea lions themselves do an excellent job with this. However, young individuals remain with their mothers for a very long time: up to 4 years. At the same time, females become sexually mature by 3-6 years, and males - by 5-7 years of age.

Among sea lions, there is a phenomenon that is very rarely observed in other mammals: females, whose daughters have already managed to give birth to offspring, still continue to feed them with their milk.