You don’t expect to see a sea lion in Port Phillip Bay these days, let alone crossing Beach Road in Brighton. But this curious critter turned up in a Brighton back yard in mid September!
Anybody home???
Reports from early European explorers and bones found in aboriginal middens indicate sea lions once lived in Bass Strait. But their range was probably reduced in the 1800s by the sealing industry. Nowadays their breeding range is believed to be west of Kangaroo Island South Oz; and they are believed to remain close to their birthplace. So the story here is quite a mystery.
Sea lions are closely related to Australian fur seals in that they have ears and larger forelimbs than other seal species; and their hind limbs are capable of a shuffling walk on land.
ahhh well... back to the Bay
Hi BayKeeper,
Why do they hold their noses in the air like that? Perhaps the golden mile wasn’t good enough compared to the Bay?
Well it must have come a close second… the critter did stick around for an hour and a half!
I’m told that this is the first record of an Australian Sea-lion in Port Phillip. And why would it visit a kitchen? Could it have been a “pet” that escaped from a property with a swimming pool – in Portsea, say?
I think you’re onto something here Michael. The poor critter wasn’t just calling by to borrow a cup of sugar.