Sea lions are classified as pinnepeds. They resemble seals but are in fact, taxonomically, more closely related to dogs, bears, raccoons, otters and weasels. Australian sea lions do not migrate but live, breed, feed and raise their young on several small stretches of sandy and rocky island beaches off the coast of Australia. They are the most endangered of all pinnepeds despite being granted “rare” protected status by the Australian government since 1994.

As with most sea creatures these animals were hunted to near extinction by the late 1800s and early 1900s. In fact their numbers were in such decline that some protections were offered to this unique species by the Australian government around 1892 – an action never before heard of for the sake of an animal.

Many behaviors observed by these animals are typical of most sea lion species. Males are polygamous and will protect their harems but care nothing for the pups. The females however are a bit different in their behavior. Females within the same family units display fostering behavior – adopting orphaned pups and acting as babysitter and nursemaid when the other females are out hunting.

Another unique feature is that their breeding cycle is asynchronous meaning that various colonies breed at differing times throughout the year with a time frame between births of 17.5 months. The reason for this sort of breeding cycle remains unknown.

In actuality very little is known about these elusive and docile creatures. With their population still in crises more efforts are currently underway to assist in their recovery.

Recently National Geographic has attached a camera to one female sea lion. She takes us along as she goes about her daily life. In just a short time she has helped us to discover that she and her brethren hunt prey and eat, mostly, on the ocean floor. Small fish and octopi make up the majority of their diet. However on one particular day the young female takes on a rather big octopus that is quite able to put up a fight. The sea lion is forced to surface with the octopus in tow in order to breathe but she does prevail and eventually manages to consume her large meal. The link to this is listed below and is truly exquisite footage.

Also several Australian government agencies have combined their efforts to use a GPS tracking device to study the feeding habits and track the movements of these ecologically precious animals. They have found that they do travel from island to island but do not roam far. The fact that they choose to live within a very small and specialized habitat makes it more difficult to secure their future.

Despite the protections granted to these peaceful little sea lions the population is still in trouble. Often caught in monofilament gillnets as what fishermen call “bycatch” they are trapped within the nets and drown. Baited lobster traps also entice the sea lions and unfortunately snare and drown a considerable number. Their number one natural predator is the great white shark. Debris and garbage also provide challenges to their survival.

But the number one enemy to the recovery of these animals is the same as for all ocean dwellers and that is over fishing by humans. Regulations and restrictions are curtailing some of this burden but with overwhelming resistance by those that make a living from the sea. Coming to observe the sea lions happily lying on the shore with various stages of offspring is a great draw for tourists – economically a competitive stance to take against the continued over-fishing of their specific habitat.

The continued decline of Australian Sea Lions will have a far-reaching impact on the tourism economy not to mention the overall ecosystem of their particular habitat. With the continuing and additional efforts in place there is now hope that their numbers will start to increase and that they will continue to thrive on the coastal islands for many generations to come.