We were hearing some sea lions while doing field work recently and when I looked out to an offshore rock, I could see them in the distance. I thought it might be too far for my camera lens, but I ended up with a few interesting photos.
The animal in the center is a very (very!) large Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Adult males can be up to 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) long and weigh an average of 1000 kg (2200 lbs, or 1 ton). They are the largest otariid (sea lions and fur seals) in the world.
The animals directly in front and behind the large Steller Sea Lion are California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus). (I'll talk more about the differences in a future post.) But the animals in the lower left corner are also Steller Sea Lions — perhaps a large female and a smaller juvenile.
3 comments:
Stellar male is such a hunk! Love the comparisons…
good composition! How come a sports team never got named
after this sea lion? Sounds good: Goooo Stellars! ( not the
bird…although they deserve merit too )
:) Good idea! Made me laugh out loud. Especially after seeing that hulk of a sea lion moving its bulk around. Impressive!
Another funny comparison -- Eric and I thought this sea lion looked like Jabba the Hutt. And since its species name is "jubatus", I thought a funny play on its scientific name would be...wait for it...Eumetopias jabbatus! ;)
Thanks for the laugh,
:) Jackie
🤣
Post a Comment