Alice White
The amazing animals known as sea lions are found mostly where there are almost no people. They prefer harsh places where they, however, manage to survive with ease, and the only thing that really poses a threat to them is a person and his activities. Due to the spread of civilization, their habitat is steadily declining, which threatens the existence of the entire species.
- Biologists classify sea lions as seals.
- There are five types of these animals in total. They differ quite strongly from each other.
- The largest sea lions live in the northern seas. They reach a length of three meters and a weight of one ton.
- For one meal, a sea lion absorbs an amount of food equal to 5-7% of its own weight. They feed mainly on fish.
- Diving underwater, they store oxygen not only in the blood but also in muscle tissue. On average, an adult sea lion is able to stay underwater for up to 25-30 minutes. However, usually, these animals come up to swallow air much more often.
- These amazing creatures live for a long time – twenty to thirty years.
- Sea lions are able to swim across seas and oceans. During the journey, they cover distances of thousands of kilometers.
- Females of these animals bear cubs for twelve months.
- Fat reserves allow sea lions to go without food for several months without compromising their health.
- From the point of view of industrial production, these animals are not interesting to anyone, but due to environmental pollution and global climate changes, their population may soon decline to alarmingly small proportions.
- Every year, about one hundred thousand people visit a nature reserve in Australia with one purpose – to see sea lions in the wild.
- In the Galapagos Islands, it is the sea lion that acts as a symbol, not the iguanas for which these islands are famous.
- The sharp teeth of these animals are used only to catch and tear apart prey. Then they swallow it in large chunks without chewing.
- The average swimming speed of a sea lion is about 15-17 km / h, but if necessary, they are able to develop a speed of up to 40 km / h in the water. On land, these animals are, of course, much more awkward.
- Sea lions are capable of diving to a depth of 250-300 meters. This is beyond the power of any diver without a special rigid spacesuit, dome, or other equipment – the pressure at such depths is already too high.
- Females of these animals are usually much smaller than males in size.
