Discover

Today
Animals
Explore
Archive
Search

Use it

Classroom
Resources
Field lab
Quiz
Saved

Trust

Methodology
Sources
Corrections
Accessibility
Contributors

Details

About
Contact
Privacy
Terms
Newsletter

Animal profile

California Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

MammaliaCoastal waters, islands, jetties and docks of the northeastern PacificLeast Concern

Field profile

The California sea lion is an agile, vocal eared seal common along the North American Pacific coast. Males develop a raised bony crest on the skull and bark loudly at breeding colonies. It is the sea lion most often seen in aquaria and in urban harbours.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-04-10

California Sea Lion

A sea lion learned to keep a musical beat

A California sea lion named Ronan was trained to bob her head in time to music and could hold the beat across tempos she had never heard, undermining the idea that rhythmic entrainment requires the vocal-learning brain of a parrot or a human.

Read with evidence →

California Sea Lion | Daily Animal Facts