Galapagos Sea Lions - They Are Definitely Not Seals!

Sea Lion Basking on a Bench in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Ask any visitor to tell you the highlight of their visit to the Galapagos Islands, and you're as likely as not to hear "The sea lions!" It's true - everyone loves the sea lions. They greet you on every island. They are unafraid. They are entertaining. They are cute. They are noisy. They show up in the most expected - and unexpected - places. They sit on our park benches, taking over. They climb into our boats and pangas if we let them. They lay about the ocean front property - after all, they were here first; they actually do own the beach! They swim and cavort in the water. They don't mind having their picture taken - and are more than willing to pose. So, everyone gets bragging rights to having taken wonderful photos of the sea lions.

Sea Lion Pup

But, there's a lot to learn about them too. For example, Galapagos sea lions are ubiquitous in the Galapagos Islands. They are endemic and exclusive to the archipelago (except for one location on Ecuador's mainland coastline) and can be seen and heard on every island; the total population is about 50,000 sea lions. They are quite large as sea lions go and range in size from mature males of about 1000 pounds to mature females of about 700 pounds. Pups weigh about 13 pounds at birth.