Species: Eumetopias jubatus

Steller Sea Lion
Species

    Steller sea lions are the largest otariid. Males grow larger than females. The average standard length is 282 cm in adult males and 228 cm in adult females (maximum of about 325 cm and 290 cm, respectively); weight of males averages 566 kg and females 263 kg (maximum of about 1,120 kg and 350 kg) (Fiscus 1961, Calkins and Pitcher 1982, Loughlin and Nelson 1986, Winship et al. 2001). Newborn pups are about 1 meter long and weigh 16-23 kg (Daniel 2003).

    Articles:

    Steller sea lions in Puget Sound and vicinity

    Steller sea lions use Puget Sound as a feeding area from autumn through spring when they are not breeding in British Columbia and Alaska during summer. While the Western Stock of the species is considered Endangered under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Eastern Stock, which occurs in Puget Sound, is increasing in numbers and not listed under the ESA.

    A much larger male Stellar sea lion sitting next to a male California sea lion on a rocky perch.
    Study would explore changes to protections for seals and sea lions

    As wildlife managers work to recover Puget Sound’s diminished Chinook population, a proposed white paper is expected to review the impacts of some of the salmon's chief predators. The study would include a section on potential management of seals and sea lions, prompting open discussion of a long taboo subject: Could officials seek to revise the Marine Mammal Protection Act — or even conduct lethal or non-lethal removal of seals and sea lions in some cases? Such actions are hypothetical, but we look at some of the ongoing discussions around the issue as prompted by a new resolution from the Puget Sound Leadership Council. 

    Harbor Seals sunning on intertidal rocks of Puget Sound. Photo: Tony Cyphert (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/tony717/14630242564
    Year-round algal toxin exposure in free-ranging sea lions

    Sea lions living along the coast of Washington are at risk from harmful algal blooms throughout the year, according to a 2017 study published in the Marine Ecology Progress Series.

    Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Photo by NOAA Fisheries.
    Seals and sea lions may be slowing salmon recovery, hurting orcas

    Increased consumption of Chinook salmon by seals and sea lions in the Salish Sea “could be masking the success of coastwide salmon recovery efforts,” according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. Endangered resident orcas are said to be declining in part due to a lack of available Chinook, the orcas' preferred prey.

    A young resident killer whale chases a chinook salmon in the Salish Sea near San Juan Island, WA. Sept 2017. Photo: (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/21wV8rV
    Study says predators may play major role in chinook salmon declines

    A new study shows that increased populations of seals and sea lions are eating far more of Puget Sound’s threatened chinook than previously known, potentially hampering recovery efforts for both salmon and endangered killer whales. 

    Sea lion sunbathing between meals in Seattle's Eliott Bay. Photo: Johnny Mumbles (CC BY 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/mumbles/3283168713
    Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus)

    This article was originally published by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of its annual report Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington.

    Male and female Steller sea lions. Photo by Andrew Trites.
    Reports: Steller Sea Lion status reports

    This page includes documents and links related to the status of Steller Sea Lion in Washington state and the Salish Sea region. 

    Top-level predators in Puget Sound

    Fishes, birds, and mammals (including humans) serve as top-level carnivores in the Puget Sound ecosystem. With the exception of humans, these organisms have a diet that consists almost entirely of fish or other vertebrates.

    sea lions
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Mammalia

    Order

    Carnivora

    Family

    Otariidae

    Genus

    Eumetopias

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Northern Sea Lion - Steller Sea-lion - otarie de Steller
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Carnivores
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Carnivora - Otariidae - Eumetopias - The English name for sea lions has been inconsistently rendered as sea lion, sealion, and sea-lion (Rice 1998; Wozencraft, in Wilson and Reeder 2005).

    Steller sea lions are the largest otariid. Males grow larger than females. The average standard length is 282 cm in adult males and 228 cm in adult females (maximum of about 325 cm and 290 cm, respectively); weight of males averages 566 kg and females 263 kg (maximum of about 1,120 kg and 350 kg) (Fiscus 1961, Calkins and Pitcher 1982, Loughlin and Nelson 1986, Winship et al. 2001). Newborn pups are about 1 meter long and weigh 16-23 kg (Daniel 2003).

    Short General Description
    A large marine carnivore (sea lion).
    Habitat Type Description
    Marine
    Migration
    false - false - false - >
    Non-migrant
    false
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Steller sea lions feed opportunistically on fishes (mainly demersal and off-bottom schooling species) and cephalopods; sometimes also on various other invertebrates (cnidarians, sand dollars, worms, shelled mollusks, crustaceans, etc.) and rarely on birds or small pinnipeds (though males at St. George Island kill and eat large numbers of northern fur seal pups in late summer and fall).<br><br>Bulls fast for 1-2 months during during breeding season.<br><br>Throughout the year, feeding may occur in the vicinity of rookeries or far (hundreds of kilometers) away, and in shallow or deep water, depending on the sex and age of the individual and the season.
    Reproduction Comments
    The life cycle includes several basic stages, minimally including recently born pups, dependent juveniles, independent juveniles, subadults, and adults.<br><br>Females give birth to single pups a few days after arriving at the rookery, late May to early July (mainly late June). Females mate with territorial males within 2 weeks of parturition; mating occurs June to mid-July. Implantation is delayed 3-4 months; total gestation period is about 1 year. Female stays with her pup for 3-13 days, then begins a series of 1-2-day feeding trips that extend over a period of several weeks, during which time the pup is left ashore. Young are weaned usually within 1 year in California; lactation usually lasts more than 1 year in Alaska. Females are sexually mature in 3-4 years (or up to 8 years); may breed into their early 20s (Mathisen et al. 1962, Pitcher and Calkins 1981); most adult females breed annually, though a high rate of reproductive failure results in a lower than 100 percent birth rate among adult females (estimated at 55-63 percent by Pitcher and Calkins 1981 and Calkins and Goodwin 1988). Males attain sexual maturity at 3-7 years old (Pitcher and Calkins 1981), but breeding (territorial) males typically are at least 7-8 years old (most often 9-13 years old in Alaska) (Thorsteinson and Lensink 1962, Loughlin et al. 1987, Raum-Suryan et al. 2002). Males may live up to around 20 years and females to around 30 years.
    Ecology Comments
    Predators include orcas (killer whales) and sharks.
    Length
    300
    Weight
    1000000
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G3
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2011-07-15
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-18
    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S2&US.AK=S3&US.CA=S2&US.OR=S2&US.WA=__" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Range includes coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean from California and northern Honshu, Japan, and Korea, north to the Bering Strait (Kenyon and Rice 1961, Calkins and Pitcher 1983, Loughlin et al. 1984, Bigg 1988, Perlov 1991, Sea Lion Recovery Plan Team 1991, NMFS 2008). NMFS (2008) divides the population into eastern and western distinct population segments at 144° west longitude (Cape Suckling, Alaska).<br><br>Breeding rookeries extend from the central Kuril Islands and the Okhotsk Sea in the west to Año Nuevo Island and (formerly) San Miguel Island, California, in the east (Loughlin et al. 1987; NMFS 1993, 2008). Most of the largest rookeries formerly were in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands (Loughlin et al. 1984), but with the decline in the western distinct population segment the largest rookeries are now in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia (NMFS 2008). Breeding colonies occur in Oregon and British Columbia but not in Washington (nonbreeding occurrences only, mainly October to April).
    Global Range Code
    H
    Global Range Description
    >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104433