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 um
move that the scientists can now confirm
will protect critical sea lion 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 is being
conducted by sardine and the South
Australian Department for the
environment and heritage with support
from marine innovation South Australia
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 um
move that the scientists can now confirm
will protect critical sea lion 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 is being
conducted by sardine and the South
Australian Department for the
environment and heritage with support
from marine innovation South Australia
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