Australian Sea Lion

The Australian Sea Lion is one of our endangered Australian animals.

They were hunted for their hide and oil in the 18th and 19th centuries.

They have a stocky body, a large head and short narrow flippers, adult males measure between 2 to 2.5 metres in length and weigh 250 to 300 kilograms, while the adult female measures between 1.3 to 1.8 metres and weighs 61 to 104 kilograms.

The male is dark brown with yellow areas on the neck and top of the head. The female is silver grey, light tan to dark brown on the back and a creamy colour underneath.

Not much is known about their diet but squid, octopus, crustaceans and fish are probably their major source of food.

Australian Sea Lions are the only species of seal with a non-annual breeding cycle. The time between breeding seasons is about 17 months.

The females come ashore into the breeding areas when ready and then give birth a day or two later.

About 7 to 8 days after the birth they come into season for about 24 hours. The female nurses its pup for 15 to 18 months.

The Australian Sea Lion is an endangered marine mammal found only in Australian waters. It is one of the most endangered seals in the world today.

It is estimated that only 12,000 remain in the wild today.

Two-thirds of this population is found within South Australian waters, with the main breeding colonies being on Kangaroo Island and Dangerous Reef in South Australia.

They are found from The Pages (two small islands east of Kangaroo Island), along the southern coast of South Australia and around the Western Australian coast to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands near Geraldton.