California sea lion

noun

: a small brown sea lion (Zalophus californianus) that occurs especially along the Pacific coast of North America from Vancouver Island to Baja California and the Gulf of California and in the Galapagos Islands and that is the seal most often trained to perform in circuses

Examples of California sea lion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Like all marine mammals, the California sea lion is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act which has helped their population to continue increasing since at least 1975, after protections were put in place under the MMPA. Jon Haworth, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2024 The center is at maximum capacity right now, with 47 elephant seals, 37 California sea lions and eight harbor seals. Laura Randall, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2024 Stranding coordinators and biologists say the good news is that the California sea lion population is healthy and robust; however, rescue centers are filling up with sick and malnourished pups. Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024 So seeing big numbers of California sea lions is obviously a great thing. Emma Bowman, NPR, 4 May 2024 The whales mainly ate California sea lions, gray whale calves, and northern elephant seals. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Mar. 2024 For example, California sea lions forage in Pacific coastal waters from the Canadian border to Baja California and are accidentally caught by boats fishing for hake and halibut. Heather Welch, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2024 From winter to early spring, California sea lions travel along the West Coast as far north as southern Alaska in search of food such as salmon, before returning to southern California for mating season. Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024 But surprisingly, male California sea lions appear to be bucking this trend. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of California sea lion was in 1859

Dictionary Entries Near California sea lion

Cite this Entry

“California sea lion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/California%20sea%20lion. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on California sea lion

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!