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California sea lions breed gregariously between May and August, when they arrive at their breeding rookeries. When establishing a territory , the males will try to increase their chances of reproducing by staying on the rookery for as long as possible.
California sea lion bulls establish breeding territories on the beach from May to August. The peak of mating activity is in late June and early July. Galápagos sea lions may mate from May to January. A male with an established territory breeds with an average of 16 females in one season.
When pups are 4 to 5 months old, they molt their dark brown coats for light brown or silver coats. California sea lions have broad front flippers and long, narrow snouts. Subadult and adult males have pronounced forehead crests crowned with tufts of blonde or lighter hair.
California sea lions are gregarious, social animals and gather during the breeding season, preferring sandy beaches for their rookeries. Females gather on the rookeries where they are sociable and noisy but relatively indifferent to the males until they are ready to mate.
The breeding season for this sea lion species occurs from late June to early August, with pups being born between May to June. View this post on Instagram. A post shared by Celia Kujala (@celiakujala) Females are ready to mate again just three to four weeks after giving birth.
California sea lions tend to breed on islands or remote beaches. Zalophus californianus exhibit moderate to extreme polygyny and tend to live in colonies of a few males and many females. Female Z. californianus exhibit mate choice, by "respond[ing] differently to the attempts of various males"(Riedman, 1990).
These sea lions congregate in huge colonies in breeding and birthing areas—the Channel Islands off the coast of central California, islands along the northern Pacific coast of Baja California including Guadalupe Island; islands along the east coast of Baja California; and on beaches in the mid and southern Gulf of California.
