Stellar+Sea+Lion+2010

By: Katelyn E.





Adults’ color is lighter than most sea lions. Their colors range from pale yellow to occasionally reddish. Pups are born almost black. They weigh around 50 lbs. Adult females weigh around 660 pounds and are as long as 8 feet. Males are about 325 cm long and can weigh up to 1,300 – 2,500 pounds.Stellar’ range extends from Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia to the Gulf of Alaska (north), and to Ano Nuevo Island off central California. In the summer they tend to shift south.These sea lions feed on a wide range of fish and cephalopod species. Such as, walleye Pollock, Pacific salmon, herring, sculpins, squid and octopus. Mature males aggregate in May on tradition, usually on beaches on isolated islands. A week or so later, females arrive, sometimes, bringing sexually immature off spring. Fertilized eggs do not become implanted in the uterus until the fall. Around mid August they start leaving the rookery. Pups stay with their mother up to 4 years. This animal is endangered because people used to kill them for a variety of things. They were killed for meat and clothing. Their skin was often used to cover baidarkas and kayaks. Fisherman everywhere kill them, for they see them as competitors and a threat to fish stock.We can help this endangered species! We can stop this by making it illegal to kill them everywhere or at least in more places. We need to start protecting our animals. Killing sea lions is strictly prohibited n the U.S, Canada and Russia. I believe that it should be prohibited in more countries.