Sealion Discussion

FAA WATERCOLOR MARK DOES NOT APPEAR ON FINAL SALES
While walking around the piers in San Francisco, California I came to Pier 39 right by... more

by John Telfer

Title

Sealion Discussion

Artist

John Telfer

Medium

Photograph

Description

FAA WATERCOLOR MARK DOES NOT APPEAR ON FINAL SALES
While walking around the piers in San Francisco, California I came to Pier 39 right by Fisherman's Wharf and looked at the tremendous amount of sealions just laying on the floating docks sunning themselves. All of a sudden I heard a looud barking sound and I turned to my right and saw these two large sealions standing face to face barking into each other for over five minutes. I also wanted to capture the seagull just sitting there watching these two sealions having I guess a casual sealion conversation. The California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of five species of sea lion. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California. Sea lions are sexually dimorphic - males are larger than females, and have a thicker neck and protruding crest. They mainly haul-out on sandy or rocky beaches, but they also frequent manmade environments such as marinas and wharves. Sea lions feed on a number of species of fish and squid, and are preyed on by killer whales and white sharks.
California sea lions have a polygynous breeding pattern. From May to August, males establish territories and try to attract females to mate with. Females are free to move in between territories, and are not coerced by males. Mothers nurse their pups in between foraging trips. Sea lions communicate with numerous vocalizations, notably with barks and mother-pup contact calls. Outside of their breeding season, sea lions spend much of their time at sea, but they come to shore to molt.
Sea lions are particularly intelligent and can be trained to perform various tasks. Because of this, California sea lions are commonly found in public displays in zoos, circuses and oceanariums, where they are known as the classic "seals," and are trained by the US Navy for certain military operations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as Least Concern due to its abundance. Sea lions have been considered threats to endangered salmon at Bonneville Dam, where officials have killed several individual offenders.
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Uploaded

March 3rd, 2012