Chester Zoo - Sealions
- Thread starter Waddi
- Start date
The sealions left in Febuary. The male went to Artis Zoo in Amsterdam and the two females to Whipsnade.
1:0 Giant Otter has been resident in the newly renovated pool since easter and a female arrived a few weeks ago.
They arrived last year (they were the big 'New for 2009') and despite how they are advertised are not sea lions as such but South African Fur Seals and Common Seals.
Certainly that's what they had when I was there last year (and they were labelled as such on the actual exhibits). Fur seals are the same family as sea lions (Otariidae) so do look very similar.
EDIT: You can see my photos of the fur seal and Common Seal exhibits here: http://www.zoochat.com/gallery/rhyl-seaquarium/
Looking at the photos above, I'd say they were still the South African Fur Seals - hairier on the neck and with a different shaped muzzle to Californian Sea Lions.
EDIT: You can see my photos of the fur seal and Common Seal exhibits here: http://www.zoochat.com/gallery/rhyl-seaquarium/
Looking at the photos above, I'd say they were still the South African Fur Seals - hairier on the neck and with a different shaped muzzle to Californian Sea Lions.
Yup, exactly so. There are three pinniped families:
Odobenidae - the Walrus
Phocidae - the 'true' or earless seals, including our two UK native species (Common and Grey)
Otariidae - 'eared seals' - including fur seals and sea lions
The ear flaps versus no ear flaps is a pretty good separator so, walrus aside, if it's got ear flaps it's an otariid and if not it's a phocid.
I've learnt something tonight, Thank you!
You're very welcome - the sharing of information is the very purpose of this mighty World Wide Web!
California sea lions.
There are lots of photos of the renovation period of Chester's old sea lion pool in the galleries, you can follow the various stages of progress, including the emptied pool.
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I think you're confusing grammar with spelling. "California sea lion" is the correct spelling of the species.
All of those are incorrect.
Of course all those are incorrect that's the point. California is a noun, Californian is the adjective. Californian sea lion is certainly not an incorrect spelling. It seems that Gymnogyps californianus is now called the California condor although I've never heard its close relative being called the Andes condor by the same logic. (Actually I've only just noticed that you were primarily correcting sealion to sea lion, but my point still stands.)
Note to OP, yes the California sea lions have been replaced by Brazil giant otters
Actually it is. I'm not entirely sure there's any need to belabour the point, but the seminal reference by Peterson and Bartholomew uses "California" as do all the specialist marine biologists and universities researching or working with the animal. References include:
The Marine Mammal Centre
NOAA Fisheries
National Marine Mammal Laboratory
Heck, even Wikipedia.
They're nuts you know.
IUCN use 'Californian', however! 
Zalophus californianus (Californian Sea Lion)
It really doesn't matter that I can see - it's hardly a big enough difference that it's going to lead to confusion.
Zalophus californianus (Californian Sea Lion)
It really doesn't matter that I can see - it's hardly a big enough difference that it's going to lead to confusion.
Linnaeus must have been a pretty good grammarian to have written all those editions of Systema Naturae in Latin
Alan