Australian sea lions are lending a hand
or maybe a flipper in the establishment
of South Australia’s marine parks and
along the way the National Geographic
Crittercam
captured a never-before-seen act of
predation a sea lion capturing and
eating a large octopus the project led
by South Australian research and
development institute scientist dr. Brad
Page is reviewing critical information
about South Australia’s seafloor
environments and is revealing valuable
insights into the behavior and foraging
habits of the endangered Australian sea
lion sea lions fitted with GPS trackers
and a National Geographic critter cam
are taking scientists on amazing
journeys to previously unknown marine
hotspots these areas are important not
only for providing the sea lions food
but also for maintaining fish
populations the critter cams are
deployed at dangerous reef in Spencer
Gulf a rocky island the size of a
football field and home to the biggest
Australian sea lion colony combining the
two instruments the sea lions themselves
are showing the researchers behavior
never before witnessed by scientists and
exactly where and how they feed it’s
answering many questions about the
endangered sea lions which will help
make sure the areas to be designated as
marine parks protect key sea lion
habitat dr. Paige says one important
discovery is that the sea lions always
feed on the sea floor and they don’t eat
open ocean fish known as pelagic this is
critical information because the marine
parks are being set up to protect
seafloor habitats
that the scientists can now confirm will
protect critical sealion resources in
one of the more spectacular pieces of
Crittercam video so far we can see this
female working hard to handle a
challenging prey item a large octopus
too big to swallow in one gulp she drags
it to the surface where she can breathe
while she works at breaking it down into
bite-sized pieces at several points the
octopus tries to get away but the sea
lion is relentless she bites off
tentacles one by one the octopus drifts
away but again the sea lion goes back
for more of her meal all the while
keeping the prey near the surface where
she can take some breaths the three-year
project has been substantially funded by
the Australian Marine Mammal Center and
is being conducted by sardine and the
Department of the Environment water
heritage and the arts
with support from Flinders University a
marine innovation South Australia
you
or maybe a flipper in the establishment
of South Australia’s marine parks and
along the way the National Geographic
Crittercam
captured a never-before-seen act of
predation a sea lion capturing and
eating a large octopus the project led
by South Australian research and
development institute scientist dr. Brad
Page is reviewing critical information
about South Australia’s seafloor
environments and is revealing valuable
insights into the behavior and foraging
habits of the endangered Australian sea
lion sea lions fitted with GPS trackers
and a National Geographic critter cam
are taking scientists on amazing
journeys to previously unknown marine
hotspots these areas are important not
only for providing the sea lions food
but also for maintaining fish
populations the critter cams are
deployed at dangerous reef in Spencer
Gulf a rocky island the size of a
football field and home to the biggest
Australian sea lion colony combining the
two instruments the sea lions themselves
are showing the researchers behavior
never before witnessed by scientists and
exactly where and how they feed it’s
answering many questions about the
endangered sea lions which will help
make sure the areas to be designated as
marine parks protect key sea lion
habitat dr. Paige says one important
discovery is that the sea lions always
feed on the sea floor and they don’t eat
open ocean fish known as pelagic this is
critical information because the marine
parks are being set up to protect
seafloor habitats
that the scientists can now confirm will
protect critical sealion resources in
one of the more spectacular pieces of
Crittercam video so far we can see this
female working hard to handle a
challenging prey item a large octopus
too big to swallow in one gulp she drags
it to the surface where she can breathe
while she works at breaking it down into
bite-sized pieces at several points the
octopus tries to get away but the sea
lion is relentless she bites off
tentacles one by one the octopus drifts
away but again the sea lion goes back
for more of her meal all the while
keeping the prey near the surface where
she can take some breaths the three-year
project has been substantially funded by
the Australian Marine Mammal Center and
is being conducted by sardine and the
Department of the Environment water
heritage and the arts
with support from Flinders University a
marine innovation South Australia
you
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