SEA LIONS AND BEARS ARE COUSINS?

Ya, that was my reaction at first. How?

The closest relatives to bears are seals, sea lions and walrus. Pinnipeds (the name given to the scientific order for seals, sea lions and walrus) are the sea-going cousins of bears.

Twice the size and just as ornery as a polar bear, these two creatues have almost identical skulls and are marine predators.

Stellar sea lions are abundant in the coastal waters of the pacific ocean but are still considered near threatened.

Males arrive on what scientists called a rookery. Territorial, this sends other dominant males elsewhere as the reproductive rookery is claimed and within weeks the females and immature young arrive.

I wouldn’t say we were close to this island but close enough to hear how loud these animals are. Especially the dominant male who plays a key role in reproduction.

We found fthese three a little further up from the island covered in sea lions. The one didn’t even move. This buoy is in the middle of the ocean, no island or coast nearby. These three are lucky there were no orca sightings in the area!