News Alert: Dolphin Encounters Adopts Six Sea Dogs!
Hurricane Katrina left more victims than just people. Due to the damage to their Gulfport aquarium, six California sea lions moved to their new natural habitat on Blue Lagoon Island. In this year’s poster contest, you will meet our newest marine mammal friends and learn how important it is to protect the Ocean we share with them!
As members of the order of Pinnipedia (meaning “fin-footed”), sea lions are known for their intelligence, playfulness and noisy barking. They range in color from chocolate to golden brown. Females grow to around 300 pounds whereas males may reach 850 pounds!

Sea lions have a dog-like face. At around five years of age, males develop a bony bump on top of their skull called a sagittal crest. Members of the walking seal family have external ear flaps and large flippers that they use to "walk" on land. The trained "seals" in zoos and aquariums are usually California sea lions.
The largest population of California sea lions are found from British Columbia to the southern tip of Baja Mexico. There is a second population near the Galapagos Islands in the southern Pacific. A third population in lived in the Sea of Japan, but became extinct during World War II.