Sea Lion!

ARF
we love to move:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wr54_sea-lion-irish-dance-contest_animals

Hey! Let me introduce myself... I'm a California Sea Lion (also known as Zalophus californianus)! I'm playful, noisy, amphibious, exuberant, and highly adaptable to my surroundings! So, I'm a pinniped (two latin words stuck together- pinna: wing or fin, and ped: foot), but I'm definitely not a seal or a walrus. I'm from the family Otariidae. I have these external ear flaps called pinnae, whereas seals have holes. I also have long front flippers, giving me the ability to walk on my beautiful four fins on land, while seals have to squirm and walruses just flop. Sea lions are thought to have evolved from bears, while seals from water animals like sea otters. My family ranges from six to eight feet long and we can weigh anywhere from 240 to 900 pounds. (I'm tippin' the scales).


I LOVE swimming! I'll let you in on a little trick, try moving your front flippers up and down in a flying motion, it always works for me. I can swim up to 23 miles per hour! When I'm swimming, I blow bubbles out of my nose and I can slow down my heart rate so I can conserve oxygen to stay underwater for up to FIFTEEN MINUTES.


When I venture to the shore to bask in the sun (one of my favorite things to do), I'm extremely social and I love to pack together with my friends in our colony. I live in a group called a harem, which consists of a dominant male/bull (ME!) in charge of a group of cows/girls. We have great communication- it's all about the vocalizations and postural displays. You can tell I'm the "beach master" just by looking at my forehead- male sea lions develop bony bumps on the top of the skull around the age of five. The girls and I will sometimes form a raft by clumping our bodies together near the surface of the water. During breeding season, I establish territory and patrol the boundaries. My ladies give birth and rear their young while ashore. The kids are fully grown by the time they are nine, and will hopefully live to old age! (30 yrs) Aw, they grow up so fast!

I can regulate my body temperature when I'm in the water by putting a fin out of the water. My capillaries are so close to the surface of the skin that I can catch the sunbeams to warm my body. To cool down, I put a flipper into the water then raise if back up into the air, which cools off during the evaporation process. (Thermoregulation)

I love to eat. I like fish, squid, and octopus (Jessie... YUM!). I have 38 teeth designed solely for grasping and tearing food, never chewing.


I have great eyesight both on land and in the water, but my large eyes are very light sensitive. Hearing is one of the most important senses that I use. I have 25 whiskers that are great for tactile exploring, but I don't have much sense of taste. I have a great sense of smell above the water. I also have a small tail, located between my hind flippers. When I go to perform in the circus, I balance the ball on my whiskers, not on my nose. I really need to take a nap right now.

I don't really like Killer Whales or Great White Sharks- they like to play tag and sometimes accidentally eat my friends and family. Polar bears, coyotes, and wolves are also no fun.

OUCH-back in the nineteenth century, my forefathers were hunted for their skin and oil, but now we are doing well in North America. My brothers and sisters in the Galapagos are considered vulnerable, though. :( Well, it's time for that nap, ARF ARF!!!!!!!!!!!!!


SOURCES:

http://www.theaterofthesea.com/about.dolphins_sealions.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Lion
http://www.bronxzoo.com/look-and-learn/animal-profiles/california-sea-lion.aspx
http://www.squalus.net/facts.html
http://www.dolphins.org/marineed_sealionfactsheet.php