More than half way!

Hello! I can't believe that we are already almost done with our trip! We explored so many places and different tide pools too. I think my favorite trip by far was snorkeling with and surveying the sea lions. In Spanish they are called "lobos marinos" which literally translates into "sea wolves." They have a ton of sea lion skulls here too! You can tell which is female and which is male by looking for a protrusion of bone on the top of their skulls. The ones that have this are males and they use this to fight other males over territory. 

 
Male sea lion in center

Male sea lions will have harems which can consist of 10 to 15 female sea lions. Their breeding season is in the summer time and during this time the males will bark a lot and guard their territories particularly well. When we went to Isla San Jorge we could pick out the male sea lions very easily because they were barking quite a lot! It was really fascinating to see them interacting with one another. They are definitely very playful too! 



Sea lions are a type of marine mammal so they have special characteristics we don't see in other marine animals. For example, they have a special protein, myoglobin, in their muscles which has a very strong affinity for oxygen which helps them when staying underwater for a long period of time. They also have a very thick layer of fat called blubber which helps with buoyancy and staying warm. Part of what differentiates them from seals is that they have external ears! We saw them up close while snorkeling with them and they are so cute! When they go under water they tuck them close to their head and they look like little dog ears.

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