Te. Dennis et Pd. Shaughnessy, STATUS OF THE AUSTRALIAN SEA LION, NEOPHOCA-CINEREA, IN THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT, Wildlife research, 23(6), 1996, pp. 741-754
In August 1994, a systematic survey of potential haulout sites of the
Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, was conducted along the coastli
ne of the Great Australian Eight from Twin Rocks to Wilson Bluff, a di
stance of 206 km. A total of 289 Australian sea lions was recorded at
23 sites widely dispersed at the base of the Bunda Cliffs, hauled out
on perched platforms formed by collapsed sections of cliff at various
levels above the sea. Of these, 37 sea lions were recorded in a deep c
ave accessed from the sea. The total included 86 pups aged under 12 mo
nths, which were probably born in the region; six of these had almost
completed moulting their natal pelage and were estimated to be near fo
ur months old. Only 12 New Zealand fur seals, Arctocephalus forsteri,
were recorded. The Australian sea lion sites located in 1994 were surv
eyed again in August-September 1995, during a predicted breeding seaso
n. In this survey, a total of 284 sea lions was recorded at nine sites
in South Australia and one site in Western Australia. This included 9
0 pups under six months of age, of which 44 were still in lanugo. Over
all, we recorded 10 breeding sites and 14 haulout sites. Breeding even
ts were recorded at one colony over three seasons and were consistent
with an 18-month cycle. By extrapolating from the number of sea lion p
ups found in 1994, the population for the Great Australian Eight regio
n in South Australia is estimated to be 613-774. This addition increas
es the previous estimate for South Australia by 9.3% and the: previous
total population estimate by 6.6%.