What’s the difference between a seal and a sea lion? These “second cousins” of the sea look similar, but there are many ways to tell these creatures apart. From ear shape to the noises they make to communicate, seals and sea lions are amazing creatures with both shared features and many truly unique attributes. They both share an ocean habitat, but when readers take a closer look, it’s easy to discover how they each fight off predators, mate, and raise their young in different ways. Captivating full-color photographs help to bring these marvelous mammals to vivid life.
Fur seals and sea lions are charismatic, large carnivores that engage us with both their skill and playful antics. Although all species in Australian waters were harvested to near extinction 200 years ago, fur seals are recovering and are now common in near-shore waters across southern Australia. Sea lions, however, are endangered. Their populations appear not to have recovered like fur seals and are declining at some locations. Fur seals and sea lions are important top level predators and play an important role in Australia’s temperate marine ecosystems. Key threats they currently face relate to human activities, particularly interactions with fisheries. This book outlines the comparative evolutionary ecology, biology, life-history, behaviour, conservation status, threats, history of human interactions and latest research on the three species of otariids that live in the waters of southern Australia: the Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal and Australian sea lion. It also includes brief descriptions of Antarctic and Subantarctic seals that occupy the Antarctic pack-ice and remote Australian territories of Macquarie Island and Heard Island.
“The bones recovered from the middens of the northeastern Pacific shorelines have important stories to tell biologists, marine mammalogists, and those concerned with marine conservation. This volume unearths a wealth of information about the historical ecology of seals, sea lions, and sea otters in the North Pacific that spans thousands of years. It provides fascinating insights into how the world once looked, and how it may one day look again as seals, sea lions, and sea otters reclaim and recolonize their former haunts.”—Andrew Trites, Director, Marine Mammal Research Unit, University of British Columbia “Braje and Rick have assembled a compelling set of case studies on the long-term and complex interactions between people, marine mammals, and environments in the Northeast Pacific. The promise of zooarchaeology as historical science is on full display, as researchers use geochemistry, aDNA, morphometrics, and traditional analytic methods to address questions of utmost importance to the long-term health of coastal ecosystems. If this book doesn't convince conservation biology about the need to take the long view of animal histories and ecosystems into account in developing conservation management plans, I'm not sure what will.”—Virginia L. Butler, Department of Anthropology, Portland State University
Meet the amazing sea lion! Introduce elementary kids to these marine mammals and their ocean lives. Long bodies, fancy flippers, and thick skin help these sea creatures swim with speed and agility. Readers explore the features, habitats, and behaviors of sea lions, including pup raising and colony life, all with STEM-appropriate text and gorgeous photography. An end folk tale from Japan tells why fishers respect these animals.
"Seals and Sea Lions of the World covers a fascinating group of mammals whose habitat is aquatic and whose limbs are fully adapted for swimming rather than for land locomotion. The aquatic environment and the remoteness of their habitats make seals, sea lions, and walruses difficult to study. Yet, encounters with these species have produced a great interest in their past, present, and future." -- Cover.
After Astro, an orphaned Steller sea lion, was rescued by scientists at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, his attachment to people made him unable to be returned to the ocean and he now lives at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
Look at that sea lion swim! Or is that a seal? Seals and sea lions look similar. But there are many traits that make each of these animals unique! This title introduces young readers to the physical and behavioral differences between seals and sea lions. Simple text, vibrant photos, and a side-by-side comparison feature will help readers see the differences between these flippered friends!
