| February 14, 2006
Hi folks, Happy Valentines Day! I know this is a silly holiday that was made up to sell greeting cards (hey, did I mention I have some new greeting cards?) But let's take it as an opportunity to think about love in the animal kingdom. This week's featured creature is:
To me this is one of the sweetest kisses I have ever photographed.
It was shot on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Did you know:
- The Australian Sea Lion is unique among seals. They are the only ones that have a non-annual breeding cycle! Most animals breed at a certain time each year. But not these guys. It has been determined that their breeding cycle is actually 17.6 months long! And it is not synchronized between different breeding groups. End result? You may see pups being born any time of year. A very unusual creature indeed.
- Males are about three times larger than females! (about 600 pounds vs. 200 pounds)
- There are more undergraduate students at the University of Virginia up the road from me than there are Australian Sea Lions in the whole world (approx 11,0000). The Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) is one of the most endangered pinnipeds in the world.
- What's a Pinniped? It is the group of marine mammals that includes all true seals, sea-lions and fur seals, and walruses. It means "fin-footed". learn more ...
- An Australian Sea Lion was measured diving to a depth of 800 feet! This is far deeper than any human free-diver has ever managed to reach on a single breath (about 525 feet is the world record for humans).
Quiz: OK smarty pants. Test your knowledge.
How do Sea Lions breathe underwater?
A) With gills, like fish
B) With specially adapted lungs that can extract oxygen from the water
C) They don't, they breathe surface air
D) With scuba gear stolen from drunk tourists
(Answer at bottom of page.)
More Australian Sea-Lion pics:
   
Answer: (C) Like all mammals, including you and me, Sea Lions must breathe surface air. But they don't exactly hold their breath when they dive, they expel it. This keeps them from experiencing de-compression sickness when returning to the surface. Their bodies are specially adapted to store a great deal of oxygen and their heart rate slows substantially during a deep dive. learn more...
Thanks so much for reading and have a great week ladies and gents.
-Hal
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