California Channel Islands National Park Marine Sanctuary Eastern Pacific California Sea Lion Zalophus californianus Vancouv
The California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) is a coastal sea lion of the northern Pacific Ocean. Males grow to 300 kg (600 lb) and m (8 ft) long, while females are significantly smaller, to 100 kg (200 lb) and 2 m ( ft) long. The California sea lion has a streamlined body that contains a layer of blubber under the skin to provide warmth and buoyancy. Their large eyes help them adjust to low levels of light in underwater environments, while their whiskers augment their sense of touch. Their nostrils automatically close once they hit the water. Their long front flippers rotate outward for better movement on land, and propel them forward in water, where they are most at home. Males grow a large crest of bone on the top of their heads as they reach sexual maturity, and it is this that gives the animal its generic name (loph is "forehead" and za- is an emphatic; Zalophus californianus means "Californian big-head"). California sea lions feed on a wide-variety of seafood including fish, shellfish, and squid. They are highly sociable and gather in large numbers on beaches and coasts, though they are also often associated with marinas and wharves, and may even be seen on navigational buoys. Sea lions live in open water kelp beds and offshore rocks and sandy beaches. They are hunted by sharks including Great White. The Channel Islands of California, also called the Santa Barbara Islands, are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America. Northern islands are: Anacapa Island, San Miguel Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island. The Southern islands are: San Clemente Island, San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island, and Santa Catalina Island. The eight islands are split between the jurisdictions of three separate California counties: Santa Barbara County (four), Ventura County (two) and Los Angeles County (two). The islands are divided into two groups, t
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