Sea Lion

Inhabitants on the islands of the Galapagos Archipelago, the Galapagos Sea Lion is an intriguing marine mammal whose looks may deceive you because despite its amiable countenance it is truly a fierce predator and protector. The Galapagos Sea Lion, also known as the Pagos Sea Lion, spends a great majority of its day in the water hunting for prey, however it does not venture out very far from its territory due to the fact that their main predators tend to be there. Their prey is primarily fish, squid, octopus, and crustaceans, and predators are sharks and killer whales, but humans are not a threat now. Pursuing this further, humans were a prodigious threat previously when sea lions of all kinds were hunted for meat, skin, and oil. Luckily, though hunting of this species and many others have been banned and their numbers are recovered. Interestingly enough, they are completely unafraid of man though and have gotten on motor boats, jetties, and approach divers without a single ounce of fear! Also, bulls (males) always dominate a territory for approximately a month before being taken over by a different bull and in between that time defend it to the best of their ability. Unlike many other sea lion species, the breeding season doesn’t depend on migration, and therefore varies from year to year. When a cow (female) gives live birth, she only gives it to a single pup and after is extremely protective and careful that nothing bad happens to their child. Lastly, bulls weight range from 200-400 kilograms, have brown skin color, and length is 200-250 centimeters. Cows though are only 50-110 kilograms, have tan skin color, and length is 150-200 centimeters. That aside they are both provided with powerful fins and can control the back fins freely which gives agility on their sandy or rocky flat beaches.