Reproduction
For these Sea Lions the mating process occurs from August to December. The males are very aggressive when it comes to herding females into their harems. Most of these females will already be pregnant from the last mating season. Soon after giving birth they will mate. Males that don’t have a harem of their own may band into groups and try to take over mating with females. They are also known to kill the young pups in the group due to feeling threatened by them.
In the past it seemed that all of the mating took place on the sandy beaches. However, scientists know now that they can also mate on the rocky cliffs in their habitat as well. The mothers will nurse their young for about a year because they need to get ready for the birth of the next one. The pups will stay on the land until they are about a month old. Many of them die due to the mother’s having to go into the water to get their own food.
Conservation
Even though the South American Sea Lion is no longer threatened, it is still protected. There are approximately 265,000 of them today. Many groups work to ensure their natural habitat is protected. They want to address the issues of pollution in the water and global warming. These have an adverse effect on the number of South American Sea Lions. Preserving the beaches where they mate is also a major cause of such conservation efforts.
(source:google/http://www.sealion-world.com/)
No comments:
Post a Comment