Australian sea lion
| Australian sea lion | ||||||||||||
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Australian sea lion, female |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Neophoca | ||||||||||||
| JE Gray , 1866 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Neophoca cinerea | ||||||||||||
| ( Péron , 1816) |
The Australian sea lion ( Neophoca cinerea ) is a large eared seal found on Australian coasts.
features
The bulls of these sea lions grow up to 2.5 m long and weigh 300 kg. At 1.8 m and 100 kg, cows are much smaller. The sexes also differ greatly in color: males are dark brown in color, while females are silver-gray or light brown and lighter on the underside than on the top.
distribution
The colonies can be found along the coasts of Western and Southern Australia . They are mostly located on small uninhabited islands off the coast. This is only part of the former distribution that reached as far as Tasmania and New South Wales in the 19th century . Australian sea lions do not migrate much and mostly stay near their colonies outside of the breeding season. The furthest recorded distance for an Australian sea lion from its colony was only 300 km.
Way of life
The reproductive behavior is similar to that of other ear seals: the bulls reach the coast in front of the cows and try to win the best territories for themselves in often bloody fights. This pushes weaker males to the edge of the colony. When the females arrive, the place of their shore leave will determine which harem they will belong to. There is considerable unrest in the colonies from younger males trying to take advantage of moments of inattentiveness by an old bull to mate with one of the females in their territory. In addition, the bulls are constantly trying to prevent females from leaving the territory. To do this, they also follow a cow into neighboring areas, which can lead to new fights with the bulls there. A similarly high degree of aggression in the bulls can only be observed in the maned seal .
Threat and protection
Compared to the two other seals found on Australian coastlines, the New Zealand fur seal and the South African fur seal, the Australian sea lion is a rare seal. The total population is estimated at a maximum of 12,000 animals. Although it was never as common as the aforementioned species, it was once more widespread and more numerous than it is today.
The IUCN lists the Australian sea lions on the Red List of Endangered Species as endangered .
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899
Web links
- Neophoca cinerea in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2015 Posted by: Seal Specialist Group, 2014. Accessed April 19, 2020th
Individual evidence
- ↑ Australia) Simon Goldsworthy (South Australian Research & Development Institute: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Australian Sea Lion. November 3, 2014, accessed April 19, 2020 .