It is hard to guess what a California sea lion weights. But we have the answer:
An adult California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) on average weights 137.6 kg (303.35 lbs).
The California sea lion is from the family Otariidae (genus: Zalophus). It is usually born with about 6.34 kg (13.99 lbs). They can live for up to 30 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 2.02 meter (6′ 8″). Usually, California sea lions have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lion. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California. Sea lions are sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and have a thicker neck, and protruding sagittal crest. They mainly haul-out on sandy or rocky beaches, but they also frequent manmade environments such as marinas and wharves. Sea lions feed on a number of species of fish and squid, and are preyed on by killer whales and great white sharks.California sea lions have a polygynous breeding pattern. From May to August, males establish territories and try to attract females with which to mate. Females are free to move in between territories, and are not coerced by males. Mothers nurse their pups in between foraging trips. Sea lions communicate with numerous vocalizations, notably with barks and mother-pup contact calls. Outside their breeding season, sea lions spend much of their time at sea, but they come to shore to molt.Sea lions are particularly intelligent, can be trained to perform various tasks and display limited fear of humans if accustomed to them. Because of this, California sea lions are a popular choice for public display in zoos, circuses and oceanariums, and are trained by the United States Navy for certain military operations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as Least Concern due to its abundance. To protect fish, the US states of Oregon and Washington engage in annual kill quotas of sea lions.
Animals of the same family as a California sea lion
We found other animals of the Otariidae family:
- South American sea lion bringing 193.67 kilos (426.97 lbs) to the scale
- Guadalupe fur seal bringing 101.03 kilos (222.73 lbs) to the scale
- New Zealand sea lion bringing 273.67 kilos (603.34 lbs) to the scale
- Brown fur seal bringing 178.75 kilos (394.08 lbs) to the scale
- Arctocephalus forsteri bringing 101.13 kilos (222.95 lbs) to the scale
- Subantarctic fur seal bringing 92.21 kilos (203.29 lbs) to the scale
- Steller sea lion bringing 383.23 kilos (844.88 lbs) to the scale
- South American fur seal bringing 68.14 kilos (150.22 lbs) to the scale
- Galápagos fur seal bringing 39.47 kilos (87.02 lbs) to the scale
- Antarctic fur seal bringing 96.6 kilos (212.97 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a California sea lion
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Zalophus californianus:
- Striped dolphin with a weight of 142.05 kilos (313.17 lbs)
- Harp seal with a weight of 132 kilos (291.01 lbs)
- Thorold’s deer with a weight of 161 kilos (354.94 lbs)
- Tiger with a weight of 162.28 kilos (357.77 lbs)
- Sumatran serow with a weight of 110.94 kilos (244.58 lbs)
- Bluebuck with a weight of 150 kilos (330.69 lbs)
- Bornean bearded pig with a weight of 135.4 kilos (298.51 lbs)
- Black wildebeest with a weight of 156.55 kilos (345.13 lbs)
- Southern right whale dolphin with a weight of 116 kilos (255.74 lbs)
- Baiji with a weight of 112.07 kilos (247.07 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a California sea lion
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as California sea lion:
- Malayan tapir with a size of 2.22 meter (7′ 4″)
- Takin with a size of 1.74 meter (5′ 9″)
- Hartebeest with a size of 1.98 meter (6′ 6″)
- Dall’s porpoise with a size of 1.97 meter (6′ 6″)
- Juan Fernández fur seal with a size of 1.7 meter (5′ 7″)
- Arctocephalus forsteri with a size of 1.71 meter (5′ 8″)
- Ross seal with a size of 2.07 meter (6′ 10″)
- Dwarf sperm whale with a size of 2.16 meter (7′ 2″)
- Amazon river dolphin with a size of 2.12 meter (7′ 0″)
- Javan rusa with a size of 1.63 meter (5′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a California sea lion
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a California sea lion:
- Yellow-footed rock-wallaby
- Brown long-eared bat
- Chestnut-bellied titi
- Hamadryas baboon
- Naked-rumped pouched bat
- Black-tailed hutia
- South Andean deer
- Highland brush mouse
- Tweedy’s crab-eating rat
- Orange leaf-nosed bat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a California sea lion
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a California sea lion:
- Asian black bear with an average maximal age of 35.17 years
- Aardvark with an average maximal age of 24 years
- Tamaraw with an average maximal age of 28 years
- Grey-cheeked mangabey with an average maximal age of 32.67 years
- Greater horseshoe bat with an average maximal age of 30 years
- Western long-beaked echidna with an average maximal age of 31 years
- Hooded seal with an average maximal age of 35 years
- American black bear with an average maximal age of 32 years
- Lion with an average maximal age of 30 years
- Rodrigues flying fox with an average maximal age of 30 years