Australian sea lion

오스트레일리아바다사자

A sea lion found only in Australia: males are dark brown with a creamy nape, females silver-grey. It breeds on an unusual cycle of about 17 months, and only roughly 10,000 remain.

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At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Western and southern coasts of Australia
Diet: Meat eater (carnivore)
Conservation status: Endangered (IUCN EN)
Habitat: coasts

Quick answers

Where does the Australian sea lion live?

It lives in coasts of the Indian Ocean. On the globe you can find it near Western and southern coasts of Australia.

What does the Australian sea lion eat?

Its diet: meat eater (carnivore).

Is the Australian sea lion endangered?

It is listed as Endangered (IUCN EN).

The Australian sea lion is the only seal-family animal that lives only in Australia. Males are dark brown with a creamy-yellow mane, bigger than the silvery or fawn females, which have a cream underside. It is the only species in its genus alive today.

It lives on the south and west coasts, from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia to the Pages Islands in South Australia. It is endangered, with a population estimated at 14,730 animals. Western Australia's wildlife law lists it as 'in need of special protection'. Sixty-six breeding colonies are known, most on offshore islands.

An odd breeding cycle

Most seals and sea lions breed on a 12-month cycle. The Australian sea lion does not. Its breeding cycle is either about five months or an unusual 17 to 18 months, and it is not tied to the seasons. This unusual rhythm is one of the things it is best known for.

Where it lives

Colonies are scattered thinly along the coast, 28 in Western Australia and 38 in South Australia. About 42 percent of all known animals live in just three big colonies east of Port Lincoln: Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island, The Pages, and Dangerous Reef. The breeding range has shrunk as numbers fell. Colonies once lived in the Bass Strait, around Perth and Albany, and on parts of Kangaroo Island, but they have disappeared.

Hunting, calling and recognising

Australian sea lions are opportunistic hunters of the sea floor. They eat fish such as whiting, squid, cuttlefish, octopus and even small sharks. Their pups are looked after by mothers who leave to feed, so mothers and pups must recognise one another in noisy, crowded colonies. They use smell, but sound seems to matter most. Males make barking, bleating and female-like calls, and they bark in almost every social meeting.