Nature of Russia. In the realm of the sea lion. Sea of Okhotsk. Kurile Islands. Seal Island. Seals.

Until recently, the sea lion, or northern sea lion, was considered a widespread species. Its population in the middle of the 20th century reached 350 thousand heads. But now, for obvious reasons, the number of animals began to decline sharply. In 1994, the sea lion was included in the Red Book of Russia as a species that is threatened with extinction in the near future. Every year biologists and specialists in marine mammals go on a difficult expedition.
One of the main tasks of researchers is to find out what is happening with the northern sea lion population.
The main rookeries, where the Russian part of the sea lion population produces offspring, are scattered over the islands of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. A research vessel would have to travel thousands of miles to get to them. The sea lion is the largest of the eared seals. Its males reach three meters in length, and weigh a thousand kilograms. Its range extends from the Kuril Islands to central California. Sea lions are found near the small islands of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, on Sakhalin, the Commander and Aleutian Islands, off the coast of Kamchatka and Alaska.