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Australian Sea Lion

 
Australian Sea Lion

 
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Australian Sea Lion
 
 
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The Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) is a species of sea lion
Sea Lion

For other uses of the term "sea lion", see Sea lion .Sea lions are any of seven species in six genera of modern pinnipeds including one extinct ....
 that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. Today there are about 10,000 Australian Sea Lions following the introduction of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1972 which prohibited a harvest that began in earnest as soon as European
European ethnic groups

The European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s colonised the continent.

The Australian Sea Lion inhabits the ocean around Australia, and nowhere else.






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The Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) is a species of sea lion
Sea Lion

For other uses of the term "sea lion", see Sea lion .Sea lions are any of seven species in six genera of modern pinnipeds including one extinct ....
 that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. Today there are about 10,000 Australian Sea Lions following the introduction of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1972 which prohibited a harvest that began in earnest as soon as European
European ethnic groups

The European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s colonised the continent.

The Australian Sea Lion inhabits the ocean around Australia, and nowhere else. They only eat at sea, where they hunt fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
, squid
Squid

Squid are marine cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, Symmetry #Bilateral_symmetry, a mantle , and cephalopod arms....
, and other sea creatures. They have front-flippers that allow them to propel quickly through water and be more agile on land by being able to walk on all four flippers.

The breeding cycle of the Australian sea lion is unusual within the pinniped
Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae ....
 family. It is an 18 month cycle and is not synchronized between colonies. The duration of the breeding season can range from 5 to 7 months and has been recorded for up to 9 months at Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island - after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory. It is 112 kilometres southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf Saint Vincent....
.

Bulls do not have fixed territories during the breeding season. The males fight other males from a very young age to establish their individual positions in the male hierarchy and during the breeding season, dominant males will guard females for the right to breed with her when she comes into oestrus. A female comes into season for about 24 hours within 7 to 10 days after she has given birth to her new pup. She will only look after the new pup and generally fights off the previous season's pup if it attempts to continue to suckle from her.

Male Australian Sea Lions are also known to kill young, as an act of defence of territory.

Two females from the July 2001 breeding season were observed having their first pups where they were born. The females were part of a research project where 55 pups from that season were observed from the date of birth and their birth locations were also recorded. The females have proven a theory that the birth sites of the females are extremely important in their selection of future birth sites for their pups, which is another reason why the protection of existing colonies is so important to the species.

Kangaroosealion