Surprising Sea Lions
For this feature we wanted to focus on sea lions. There are lots of interesting facts about sea lions … they are amazing creatures.
It seems incredible that sea lions are found in all climates in both the northern and southern hemispheres and in every ocean … except the Atlantic Ocean. Sea lions are often seen gathering together in larger harbours around the world where they bask in the sun.
I was amazed the first time I saw a sea lion. It was in San Francisco at Pier 39. There was a large group of sea lions all sitting on the outposts of the pier. It was a phenomenal sight. I was astounded that they came so close to the city … it was an experience that has stayed with me for many years.
Here are some interesting sea lion facts:
- Sea lions belong to the group of mammals called Pinnipedia. This means “wing foot” in Latin.
- They live on both land and in water as amphibious animals. Interestingly they can even sleep in the water.
- They can swim at speeds of up to 24 miles per hour but on land they are also faster than you might think as they use their flippers to walk.
- They can stay submerged for 10-15 minutes at a time giving them plenty of time to hunt the fish they feed on.
- The sea lion’s teeth may be fairly small but they are very sharp and as they have between 34 and 38 teeth you don’t want to get anywhere near them!
- Sea lions have a coat of course outer hairs. These are called Guard Hairs which appear brown when dry and help to keep the sea lion warm. When wet, the fur flattens to give a sleek dark coloured coat.
- The sea lion uses its powerful front flippers to swim and uses its back flippers as stabilisers. They can dive to depths of approximately 1,000 feet!
- Sea lions are big beasts … an adult male can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and reach up to 10 feet in length.
Why not have a look at our collection of water based creatures … including our sea lion string doll keyring? Click here to see them.
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Some species of sea lion are able to rotate their back flippers forward, so they are able to actually walk on all four flippers when on land.