Reproduction
The reproduction process for the Australian Sea Lion is very different from that of other Sea Lions. They have an 18 month cycle rather than one 12 months in length. Most of the time a colony has a breeding season of four months with the other species. However, the Australian Sea Lion has an open window of up to 9 months. Another difference is that the males can mating with five females in turn.
They show an aggressively fight for the right to mate with any female around that is in estrus. This will occur about 10 days after she gives birth to a pup. She will only be in estrus for about 24 hours. The males will also kill her young pup she has just given birth with to show aggression and to get her to mate.
It is believed that the females will have a pattern of returning to the same location again and again to give birth to their pups. That is why it is vital that conservation efforts are in place to protect their natural habitat. Females may stop mating if they can no longer access that location for giving birth. It is believed there is a mortality high rate of the pups which means that it is hard to get the population up.
Conservation
Under the National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1972, it is illegal to harm or kill an Australian Sea Lion. Even with such protection in place there isn’t more than 10,000 of them left in the world. They are considered to be an endangered species and that means plenty has to be done if they are going to survive. With the right conditions they can live up to 25 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
(source:google/http://www.sealion-world.com/)
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