Sea Lion Facts

Sea lions are often mistaken for seals, in the sense that they are considered as a seal and not as a TYPE of seal, which they actually are.

Defined by the presence of ears and a thin coat of fur, sea lions are the more popularly known varieties of seals, with numerous entertainment franchises featuring them, in comic books, children’s books and in movies.

The 1994 full length feature Andre, a heartwarming story telling of how a family had managed to “adopt” a sea lion into their lives, stands to be one of the most well known movies featuring a sea lion character, with the sea lion’s name Andre used as a household term in describing and defining sea lions in certain parts of the world.

Highly trainable and generally quite composed in the company of human beings, sea lions are known to come in six species, with their populations known to cover tropical and sub-arctic regions, with one known species, the Japanese Sea Lion, already described as extinct.

As living creatures, sea lions have a lifespan that ranges somewhere between twenty to thirty years. Their weight and size is determinant on their species type, with the Settler’s Sea Lion known to weight as much as 1,000 kilograms or 2,200 lbs, measuring a 10 feet in length.

In terms of their dietary habits, Sea Lions are known to consume vast quantities of food, with sea lions eating an average of 5 to 8 percent of their body weight in food on a daily basis. This may not sound much, but that 5 to 8 percent is known to be somewhere at 15 to 35 lbs, saying something about how voracious sea lions are when talking about food consumption.

Protected by different government enforcement agencies, particularly for sea lions living close to human populations, the sea lion continues to be one of the more well loved water-based mammals in the world, with their silly and cute antics standing out as an attribute which sides with them.

Sea Lion Facts Video