Steller sea lion

The Steller sea lion is the biggest sea lion in the world. A grown male is about 3 metres long and can weigh more than a tonne, while females are smaller, at about 2.5 metres and 260 kilograms. Among seals and sea lions only walruses and elephant seals are bigger. It is pale yellow to tawny, and males have a thick, mane-like neck.

It lives on cold North Pacific coasts, from Japan and Kamchatka around the Aleutian Islands to Alaska and down to California. It rests on rocky shores and eats fish and squid. The species is named after the naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who described it in 1741, and it is listed as near threatened.

A seal with ears

Sea lions belong to the eared seals, which means they have small ear flaps and can turn their back flippers under the body to walk on land. Males have broad foreheads, flat snouts and a heavy mane of coarse hair, and their roars can be heard far away. The Latin name Eumetopias jubatus roughly means maned one with a broad forehead.

Family life and worries

In early summer females gather in groups of a dozen or so and each has a single pup, which is born almost black. A male guards 10 to 15 females during the breeding season. In some northern areas, especially Alaska, their numbers have dropped a lot in recent decades for reasons that scientists are still working out. In South Korea they are protected as Class II endangered wildlife.

On the globe

On the toy globe the Steller sea lion is placed on cold North Pacific shores. Look for the thick neck mane on the big male.