Today we visited Island San Jorge AKA Bird Island. The name is fitting because there were tons of sea birds on this island, they make it clear that they own this island.
However, we can’t forget about the sea lions that live here. We conducted a survey on the population of sea lions near the island based on male, female, and any that are covered in nets. My group was assigned to the females and we ended up with a count of around 331.
The difference between a male and female sea lion is their size and the shape of the head, males are significantly heavier and have a crest on their head.
After the survey, we went snorkeling and were able to get very close to the sea lions. Not too close though, because the males get territorial when we were around the females. They tend to be in groups and often lift their fins to regulate their body temperature. They look very similar to seals, the difference is sea lions use four limbs to walk on land and have external ears.
Unfortunately the transmission broke on one of the boats and we had to go back in first gear, turning an hour trip into 3 hours. The bright side is the driver was cool and we were able to play music on the way back. Once we got back, he made attaching the the boat onto the towing hitch look very easy, he did it in seconds.
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