Spawning of herring and other fish attracted a record number of sea lions to Sakhalin in 2021. 2,200 sea lions gathered on the breakwater in Nevelsk. The details were told by photographer Sergey Lyubachenko on his Instagram page.
These data were obtained on the basis of photomonitoring using a quadcopter. After analyzing one and a half thousand images, it was possible to establish how many sea lions gathered on the breakwater. This is the largest figure previously documented.
A record number of sea lions sailed to the breakwater on Sakhalin
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The choice of a place for temporary seasonal haulouts for sea lions is due to the availability of food resources – sea lions follow schools of fish. As a rule, these are pollock, herring and navaga. It should be noted that the number of sea lions on the breakwater changes daily, since for them Nevelsk is a camp, and not a permanent home. Although in recent years they began to inhabit there all year round, but with an adjustment in numbers for the seasons.