Sea Lions on Wolf Island

Zezé, the alpha male of a family of sea lions, does not have an easy life. Clearly the biggest of the bunch, he has to take care of his harem and make the family grow, while they spend time on Ilha dos Lobos, in Torres.

He mates several times a day throughout the breeding season, with the different females in his harem. A sacrifice, in the name of the continuation of the species. During this time he does not feed living on the fat accumulated in the fishing stall. Although the highest concentration of families on the island occurs in winter, Zezé decided to take a break and stay here for the summer. The family comes from breeding colonies in Uruguay and travels every year to the coast of RS-Brazil. For the southern sea lion, its species, Ilha dos Lobos is its northernmost point of occurrence on the Brazilian coast. In scientific circles its species is known as “Otaria flavescens”.

Despite the name being Ilha dos Lobos (Wolf Island) , the animals that most frequent the island are sea-lions and not sea-wolfs, which are smaller, have a pointed snout and other differences.

The sea lion is a marine mammal that is also related to seals, but is able to move its hind flippers forward and walk, unlike seals that move by jumping out of the water.

An adult male weighs around 350kg and has a mane that starts at the neck and covers the entire head. Females are lighter in color and young of both sexes are born very dark.

The name sea lion comes from the fact that males have manes around their necks and form harems, just like lions.