Marine Mammals

California Sea Lion

Picture from Wikipedia

California Sea Lions are common not only off the coast of California, but along the whole west coast, as south as Mexico and as north as Alaska. They are the familiar ball balancing seals at the circus. They live to around 20 years in the wild, if they're not killed by great white sharks or killer whales, their main predators. Males can weigh 850 ponds and be 7-8 ft long, while females are about 220 pounds and 4-6 ft long. They can be many shades of brown, from light tan to dark brown. They forage at night and eat fish, squid, and abalone. California Sea Lions prefer rocky and sandy coasts and islands such as the Channel Islands. 

Californian Sea Otter

 

Picture from here

Sea otters are very common mammals off the coast of the California. They are the smallest of all marine mammals at 30-100 pounds and 3-5 feet long, but the largest of mammals related to them (weasels, ferrest, muskrats, etc.). They were hunted from the 1700's to 1900's for their thick beautiful fur and are now endangered, with and estimated 3,026 Californian otters left of the 16,000 before the "great hunt". They live primarily off the coast of Central-Southern California in the extensive kelp forests, where they eat a variety of sea life such as fish, mussels, crabs, urchins, clams, and abalone, of which they use rocks to crack open the shell. They are one of the few mammals to use tools.