Galápagos Sea Lion: Facts and Where to See It

Sea lions belong to the eared seals, and the small ear flaps on the side of the head are the first clue. Galápagos has two of them, the Galápagos sea lion and the smaller Galápagos fur seal. Unlike true seals, a sea lion can turn its hind flippers forward under its body, so on land it does not crawl but walks, and on rocky ground it can gallop faster than a person runs.

• Bulls and cows. Males weigh up to four times as much as females and have a bump on the forehead.
• Colour. Brown or grey fur, females lighter than males, newborn pups chestnut brown.
• Divers. Their streamlined body takes them down to almost 600 metres, and they can stay underwater for more than ten minutes, hunting sardines above all.

A bull does not keep a fixed harem. He holds a stretch of beach where females live, and the more dominant he is, the more beach he holds and the more females live on it. Bulls defend their stretch aggressively against rivals and interlopers. Males without a territory gather in bachelor colonies away from the females. The mating season usually runs from July to December, though it differs from island to island.

A female has a single pup. For the first week, mother and pup stay together and learn each other's call, which is how they find each other again in a crowded colony. Then the mother fishes by day and suckles the pup in the evening. At about five weeks the pup sheds its first coat and starts to feed in the shallows, but it depends on its mother for a whole year and is weaned at 11 to 12 months. The guide records place pups at Gardner Bay on Española from August to November.

Galápagos sea lion habitat is the coastline of the whole archipelago: sand beaches and lava shelves for resting, and the shallow sea nearby for feeding. In 2014 to 2018, researchers counted them at 32 breeding sites on 13 islands. Their diet is fish, with sardines as the main prey, and the sea lions rarely leave the islands.

Guide sighting records list Galápagos sea lions at 17 visitor sites on 12 islands, and the guides note them as present along the coasts of the whole archipelago. 4 sites are rated Likely, with sightings on most visits, among them the large colonies of Mosquera Islet, Gardner Bay on Española and South Plaza. 5 are rated Possible, including Isla Lobos on San Cristóbal, Santa Fé Bay and North Seymour. The rest are rated Rare, among them snorkelling sites such as Devil's Crown and Kicker Rock.

Galápagos sea lions stay in the islands all year, so every month works. Pups are the seasonal sight: the guide records place them at Gardner Bay from August to November, and the peak of births falls in October, when researchers carry out their yearly counts. In the next twelve months, 918 departures stop at a site where they are seen.

Yes. The IUCN lists the Galápagos sea lion as Endangered. In 1978 the population was estimated at about 40,000; the 2001 census found about 16,000, a fall of around half. A study by Páez-Rosas and colleagues estimated 17,000 to 24,000 in 2018, growing about 1 percent a year, after a drop of 23.8 percent in the El Niño year 2015.

What threatens them. El Niño warms the sea and the fish disappear, and pups suffer most. Sharks and killer whales are natural predators; domestic dogs carry diseases into colonies, and sea lions have been found tangled in plastic. Galápagos National Park rules keep visitors at least 2 metres (6 feet) from wildlife, even when a curious young sea lion comes closer.

1. Ignoring the bull. A bull defends his stretch of beach aggressively. Keep clear of him and give him room.
2. Touching a pup. A pup alone on the beach is waiting for its mother, who finds it by its call. Leave it be.
3. Expecting pups every month. The guide records place them at Gardner Bay from August to November.
4. Getting too close. Park rules set at least 2 metres between visitors and wildlife, on the beach and in the water.