Structural and Behavioural Adaptations

                                                                                                                                           

Australian Sea Lion - Neophoca Cinerea

     Sea lions have flippers instead of four feet to better suit their life in the water. They also have very streamlined bodies to help them be agile. These adaptations are very helpful with avoiding their predators, sharks, and particularly great whites. They also don't migrate anywhere and tend to stay and feed in near shore shallow waters (20-30 km). They sometimes make use of deeper offshore waters. Their major prey are cephalopods, crustaceans and fish, also occasionally penguins. They hunt them using speed and surprise. They can hold their breath for very long periods of time and can dive up to 100m. A male was measured able to dive 245m. They use their flippers to chase after their prey and catch it in their mouth then swallow it whole. To come on land, they rotate their hind flippers to face forward like a foot they then use their front flipper to propel themselves up on land. This helps them to get on land and be able to reproduce. They breed mainly on offshore islands, rocks and sandy beaches. The males arrive 2-3 weeks before the females because they battle for territories. Their breeding is very unique because they don't have a breeding season. This means that pups can be born at any time of the year.