can be around the North Pacific coasts of Russia, Japan, Canada (rocky coast of British
Columbia) and some parts of the United States. When Steller sea lion are not in the
water, they gather on rockeries and prefer to haul out in secluded rocky islands. With that
being said, Steller sea lion live near coastlines and are associated with sandy beaches.
And according to a journal about their evolutionary biology “Specifically, we present
evidence that geo- graphic variation of the Steller’s sea lion is consistent with one or
more insular refugia in the Pacific North- west, Gulf of AK, AL Islands and Russia, and
that following glacier recession, …show more content…
2006). As of today there are two segments of Steller sea lion and these are
the Western and Eastern, which will be further discuss later on in this paper.
Description:
Steller sea lion have a very large body size, since they are considered the largest
Otariids and fourth largest pinniped. Besides their large body size some identifying
features that Steller sea lion possess are bulging eyes, flat squared nose, blunt face and a
bear-like head. Compared to other pinniped they also have relatively long whiskers that
allow them to navigate under water and helps them capture prey easily. Steller sea lion
also use their fore flipper to swim. According to the Alaska Sea otters and Steller sea lion
commission “ Average adult male Steller sea lion is about 1250 lbs. they can get up to 10-
11ft. in length and weight up to 2500 lbs. on the other hand adult female are from 75-95
ft. in length and can weight up to 770 lbs.” (The Alaska Sea otter and Stellar sea lion
commision) Differentiating female to male can be easy through their size; adult male can
grow up to 2-3 times larger than adult female. The adult male also have a thicker neck
than female, in addition they have a triangular shaped heads. However, both gender …show more content…
Steller sea lion foraging trips are usually few tens of miles on where
they haul outs and the largest continuous were recorded was 550 miles (900km) into the
bearing sea (M.Rehberg 2008).
Reproduction:
Steller sea lion mostly breed their pup on offshore rookeries. Their typical
breeding season is from mid-may to mid-july. Steller sea lion are sexually mature at 3 to
7 years of age and mate and eventually gave birth on land. Although they do not migrate
for reproduction, they do move their “central place haul out.” Steller sea lion usually
breed out during summer and haul out during winter. Steller sea lion have a polygynous
mating system where adult males also known as bulls establish and defend their
territories to mate with females. Females reproduce pup for the first time at 4 to 6 years
of age, these females usually give birth to a single pup each year. The gestation lasts
about 11 and half months and lactation continues for 1-3 years according to Alaska sea
otter and Steller sea lion commission. Steller sea lion pups at birth measure about 3.3 feet
(1m) in length and 35-5-lbs. Mother (adult female) stay with their pups for a few days
after birth then start to forage at sea while nursing their pups on