California Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus
California Sea Lion · San Diego · 6 March 2026
A California Sea Lion on the rocks at La Jolla, resident on the Southern California coast year-round and the loud, mobile, doglike-faced pinniped most people picture at a marina or a pier.
The external ear flaps, visible here, are the simplest way to tell a sea lion from a true seal at a glance. True seals have none, just a small hole. This is also the seal of the circus and the aquarium show, which is what those flexible flippers and that intelligence get it.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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