Animal Welfare: Marine Life

Sea Lions/Seals

While sea lions and seals look pretty much the same, both having long front flippers and long sleek bodies, they are different in two ways:

1. Sea lions have small ear flaps on each side of the head, whereas seals just have tiny openings for their ears.
2. Sea lions are able to rotate their hind flippers forward to help them move on land. Seals cannot do this, and must wriggle, roll, or slide to get out of the water and to move around on land.

Did you know?

• A group of sea lions  in the water is called a raft, and on land they are a colony. A group of seals are often considered a herd or pod. Male seals and sea lions are called bulls and females are called cows.
• Male sea lions can range from 150 lbs to over 2200 lbs!
• Sea lions and seals live between 20-40 years.
• During the breeding season, male sea lions roar loudly and continuously to establish or defend their territories.
• Sea lion pups can pick their mother’s bark out from among hundreds of sea lions.
• Both sea lions and seals can dive up to 600 feet and stay submerged for an average of 20-30 minutes!
• Most sea lions eat fish, squid, crabs and clams but the largest sea lion, the steller sea lion, also eats seals.
• Sea lions and seals can swim up to 25 miles per hour.
• Sea lions and seals have long whiskers. Each whisker is loosely attached to the upper lip where it is rotated around with the underwater currents to help locate any food swimming nearby.

Impact of Commercial Fisheries on Sea Lions and Seals

Unfortunately, not only do sea lions and seals get caught in fishing nets, in some areas, sea lions and seals are shot by fishermen who blame them for damaging their nets.

Manatees

While unusual, manatees do occasionally swim as far north as Cape Cod. As ocean temperatures rise due to climate change, manatee sightings in Cape Cod are occurring more often.

Did you know?

• Manatees are slow moving, non-aggressive, and generally curious creatures.
• They can weigh up to 1200 lbs and reach up to 10 ft in length!
• The manatee’s closest land relative is the elephant.
• On average, most manatees swim about 3 to 5 miles per hour. However, they have been known to swim up to 20 miles per hour in short bursts.
• Half a manatee’s day is spent sleeping in the water.
• Manatees must surface for air regularly, but they have been known to stay submerged for up to 20 minutes at a time!
• Well known for their gentle, slow-moving nature, manatees have also been known to body surf or barrel roll when playing.
• Manatees can live up to 60 years.
• They have a large upper lip that is used to gather food, as well as for social interactions and communications of emotions such as excitement and fear.
• Manatees are believed to have the ability to see in color.
• Researchers have found that manatees may use taste and smell, in addition to sight, sound, and touch to communicate.
• Manatees are capable of understanding tasks, show signs of complex learning and demonstrate long term memory.

Impact of Commercial Fishing on Manatees

Though hunting manatees was banned in 1893 and manatees have few natural predators (sharks, crocodiles, killer whales and alligators), manatees are listed by the World Conservation Union as vulnerable to extinction. The current main threat to manatees in the United States is being struck by boats or being slashed by propellers.