"Australian sea lion" "Neophoca cinerea" P1420366
Day 1 of a trip from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island South Australia 10/04/2019
Kangaroo Island Sealink operates a daily ferry service from mainland South Australia to Penneshaw, a major town on Kangaroo Island. The ferry departs from the town of Cape Jervis, which is a 90-minute drive south of Adelaide (or take Sealink's shuttle bus service). Daily flights also transfer passengers from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island with the airline Regional Express. The island is surprisingly large, being 155 kilometres (96 miles) long and 55 kilometres (35 miles) at its widest; you'll need at least a weekend to explore it
Walk among rare sea lions
The Seal Bay Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island's south coast is the only place in the world where you can walk among endangered Australian sea lions. You can walk along a 900-metre (2950-foot) wooden boardwalk on a Boardwalk Tour and see the animals on the sand and in the surf, or you can take a guided 45-minute Seal Bay Experience tour onto the beach itself.
Where the wild things are...
Even though a third of Kangaroo Island is national park, you don’t have to be in one to see its famous wildlife. Across the island, kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, Rosenberg’s goannas, koalas, echidnas, Australian fur seals and long-nosed fur seals roam free. In addition, the island is home to over 250 species of birds, including Little Penguins and one of the world’s largest birds of prey, the magnificent Wedge Tailed Eagle.
Kangaroo Island is also the world’s only sanctuary for Ligurian bees. Introduced from Italy in the late 1800s, the bee has created a thriving honey industry.
Flinders Chase National Park dominates the western end of the island, and although 326 square kilometres in size, has just four permanent residents, all of whom are Park Rangers. It’s also home to some of the island’s most spectacular sights, like Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch and Cape du Couedic Lighthouse.
Koalas are arguably Australia’s cutest native marsupials. They spend most of the day resting and eating high up in eucalyptus trees. If you fancy giving a koala a cuddle just like Chris, then the best way to encounter them is with a visit to Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park near the centre of the island. Another great way to spot koalas is by taking a guided or self-guided stroll down the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary Koala walk located along the south-west coast.
The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia.[2] It is currently monotypic in the genus Neophoca, with the extinct Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion Neophoca palatina the only known congener.[3] These sea lions are sparsely distributed through Houtman Arbrolhos Islands (28°S., 114°E.) in Western Australia and The Pages Islands (35°46’S., 138°18’E) in southern Australia. With a population estimated at around 14,730 animals, the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia (1950) has listed them as “in need of special protection”. Their Conservation status is listed as endangered. These pinnipeds are specifically known for their abnormal breeding cycles, which are varied between a 5-month breeding cycle and a 17- to 18-month aseasonal breeding cycle, compared to other pinnipeds which fit into a 12-month reproductive cycle.[2] Females are either silver or fawn with a cream underbelly and males are dark chocolate brown with a yellow mane and are bigger than the females.
About Australian sea lions
Please note
This site is temporarily closed in the interest of public health. COVID-19 update
Details >
Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) are part of a group known as ‘eared’ seals. They use their front flippers to prop themselves up and their back flippers to help them to ‘walk’ on land. In the water their back flippers act as a rudder.
These fascinating creatures are one of the rarest species in the world and their entire population is estimated to be less than 12,000. Of these, 85 percent live in South Australia and the other 15 percent in Western Australia.
Seal Bay is home to the third largest colony of Australian sea lions with an estimated population of 800. This is about five percent of the world's total. The Australian sea lion was nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century. We can count ourselves lucky that places like Seal Bay exist today.
Australian sea lions are listed as endangered and declining on the IUCN Red List. They are also listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and are protected in South Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.
The Australian sea lion differs from earless or ‘true’ seals (such as leopard seals) – these have no external ear flaps and can’t use their hind legs when on land.
"Australian sea lion" "Neophoca cinerea" P1420366
Day 1 of a trip from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island South Australia 10/04/2019
Kangaroo Island Sealink operates a daily ferry service from mainland South Australia to Penneshaw, a major town on Kangaroo Island. The ferry departs from the town of Cape Jervis, which is a 90-minute drive south of Adelaide (or take Sealink's shuttle bus service). Daily flights also transfer passengers from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island with the airline Regional Express. The island is surprisingly large, being 155 kilometres (96 miles) long and 55 kilometres (35 miles) at its widest; you'll need at least a weekend to explore it
Walk among rare sea lions
The Seal Bay Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island's south coast is the only place in the world where you can walk among endangered Australian sea lions. You can walk along a 900-metre (2950-foot) wooden boardwalk on a Boardwalk Tour and see the animals on the sand and in the surf, or you can take a guided 45-minute Seal Bay Experience tour onto the beach itself.
Where the wild things are...
Even though a third of Kangaroo Island is national park, you don’t have to be in one to see its famous wildlife. Across the island, kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, Rosenberg’s goannas, koalas, echidnas, Australian fur seals and long-nosed fur seals roam free. In addition, the island is home to over 250 species of birds, including Little Penguins and one of the world’s largest birds of prey, the magnificent Wedge Tailed Eagle.
Kangaroo Island is also the world’s only sanctuary for Ligurian bees. Introduced from Italy in the late 1800s, the bee has created a thriving honey industry.
Flinders Chase National Park dominates the western end of the island, and although 326 square kilometres in size, has just four permanent residents, all of whom are Park Rangers. It’s also home to some of the island’s most spectacular sights, like Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch and Cape du Couedic Lighthouse.
Koalas are arguably Australia’s cutest native marsupials. They spend most of the day resting and eating high up in eucalyptus trees. If you fancy giving a koala a cuddle just like Chris, then the best way to encounter them is with a visit to Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park near the centre of the island. Another great way to spot koalas is by taking a guided or self-guided stroll down the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary Koala walk located along the south-west coast.
The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia.[2] It is currently monotypic in the genus Neophoca, with the extinct Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion Neophoca palatina the only known congener.[3] These sea lions are sparsely distributed through Houtman Arbrolhos Islands (28°S., 114°E.) in Western Australia and The Pages Islands (35°46’S., 138°18’E) in southern Australia. With a population estimated at around 14,730 animals, the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia (1950) has listed them as “in need of special protection”. Their Conservation status is listed as endangered. These pinnipeds are specifically known for their abnormal breeding cycles, which are varied between a 5-month breeding cycle and a 17- to 18-month aseasonal breeding cycle, compared to other pinnipeds which fit into a 12-month reproductive cycle.[2] Females are either silver or fawn with a cream underbelly and males are dark chocolate brown with a yellow mane and are bigger than the females.
About Australian sea lions
Please note
This site is temporarily closed in the interest of public health. COVID-19 update
Details >
Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) are part of a group known as ‘eared’ seals. They use their front flippers to prop themselves up and their back flippers to help them to ‘walk’ on land. In the water their back flippers act as a rudder.
These fascinating creatures are one of the rarest species in the world and their entire population is estimated to be less than 12,000. Of these, 85 percent live in South Australia and the other 15 percent in Western Australia.
Seal Bay is home to the third largest colony of Australian sea lions with an estimated population of 800. This is about five percent of the world's total. The Australian sea lion was nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century. We can count ourselves lucky that places like Seal Bay exist today.
Australian sea lions are listed as endangered and declining on the IUCN Red List. They are also listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and are protected in South Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.
The Australian sea lion differs from earless or ‘true’ seals (such as leopard seals) – these have no external ear flaps and can’t use their hind legs when on land.