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Newport Beach California Sea Lion Watching |
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 Southern California Sea Lion Description
The California Sea Lion is a creature you will see lounging around during a Newport Beach Whale Watching tour. In fact, it is a rather loyal lounger to its home, commonly dwelling in the same area for years. For the California Sea Lion, home can be land or sea, natural or man-made. This creature is one of a few animals that have learned to live in any modern-day environment. They are also very smart. In fact, quite a number of domesticated Sea Lions work as successful circus animals and some are even trained by the Navy, helping to protect divers as well as ships from enemies. Incredibly, Sea Lions can live longer in captivity than in the wild, much longer than most other confined sea creatures. On average, the Sea Lion has a natural life of 17 years.
The California Sea Lion can grow into an adult size and weight of 8 feet and more than 600 lbs. respectively. Sea “Lions” are named after their “mane-like” hair, which is said to resemble a lion’s mane. In reality, the “mane” of the California Sea Lion is not as thick as the large feline counterpart’s is, but there are other Sea Lion species, like the American Sea Lion and the Stellar Sea Lion, who both notably have very full hair. Scientists also say that the Sea Lion has a head and a muzzle that are similar to canines.
Southern California Sea Lion Population
Today, the California Sea Lion population stands at an estimated 188,000. Scientists are encouraged to find that in the last decade, this population is stimulated by an annual increase of about 5 percent. This positive growth was not something that was possible over 80 years ago when only about 1,200 Sea Lions were accounted for along the California coast. Most of the Sea Lions, in the 1920s, were casualties of commercial harvesting, a sport that was became ubiquitously forbidden around the 1940s. Since this formal sanctioning of commercial harvesting, sea lion populations have been protected and continue to blossom every year.
Southern California Sea Lion Feeding Habits
The California Sea Lion has an eclectic diet. They eat a variety of fish ranging from anchovies, herring, rock fish, and salmon, and even market squid. In a single year, an adult male California Sea Lion will eat more than 7,500 pounds of food, while a female can eat as much as 3,000 lbs worth. They mainly search for food in fresh water environments, particularly looking for salmon. It is not uncommon for these Sea Lions will choose to stay these fresh water places for an extended length of time if they find it comfortable. The California Sea Lion seasonally moves to areas outside of Southern California throughout the year and has been sighted in the Columbia River, the Puget Sound, and the Willamette River.
Los Angeles Whale Watching conducts whale and dolphin watching cruises seven days a week with tours at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. It is a good idea to arrive early as these cruises do fill up quickly. Tours usually last from two to two and a half hours. Ticket prices are as follows:
Individual Ticket Prices – Two Hour to 2 ½ Hour Cruise
Adults $30
Seniors (62 and over) $25
Children (11 and under) $18
Children (2 and under) FREE!
Ticket Prices for groups of 25 or more.
Adults $22
Seniors (62 and over) $18
Children (11 and under) $12
Children (2 and under) FREE!
You can order your tickets online by clicking the button, or calling 562-432-4900. If you have a discount coupon, please present it at the ticket booth.
We look forward to seeing you and continuing to make Los Angeles Whale Watching your choice for whale watching in southern California. We offer convenient parking and are located near many area attractions such as The Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach Lighthouse and Queen Mary as well as excellent shopping and restaurant so you can make a day of it. Whale watching is a wonderful experience regardless of age. We can’t wait to provide the best whale watching in southern California experience possible.
For more information on other Southern California Whales, please click on the link below:
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