What is an Australian sea lion?
The Australian sea lion is a sea lion found only in Australia, living along the coasts of South Australia and Western Australia. It is one of the world's rarest sea lions and is listed as endangered.
Males are dark brown with a pale mane and can weigh around 300 kilograms, while females are smaller and silvery-grey with cream bellies. They can walk on land using their front and back flippers.
Australian sea lions breed on islands and remote beaches, mostly in South Australia. The total population is estimated at only around 10,000 to 12,000 animals, and it has declined in recent decades.
Threats
Main threats include drowning in fishing nets, entanglement in marine debris and disease. Gillnet fishing closures around colonies aim to reduce deaths.
Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island and Baird Bay on the Eyre Peninsula are famous places to see them.
They are curious and playful in the water, and at Baird Bay small tour groups can swim with them in a calm, shallow bay. Visitors on land are asked to keep at least ten metres away from resting animals. Each breeding colony tends to keep its own timing, so pups are born at different times at different islands.
Did You Know?
Australian sea lions have an unusual breeding cycle of about 18 months.