When you visit the delightful California sea lions at the Galapagos Islands exhibit at the Houston Zoo, you may notice bite marks on two female sea lions, Calypso and Ariel. But don’t worry. It’s all part of their natural breeding season, and our dominant male, Jonah, has just become a little more aggressive with his affection displays.
The breeding season runs from May to August, with July being the peak season for sea lion romance. While this is a routine occurrence for them, this is the first time Jonah has exhibited this kind of behavior at the Houston Zoo. It may be that his estrus (a period of increased hormonal activity) is more intense now that he is in a larger group of women.
FourLuckily, Ariel didn’t seem to care about being bitten, but Calypso was annoyed. Just as we know something is wrong with our beloved dogs and cats, keepers have noticed calypso’s unusual behavior. She wouldn’t sleep on her stomach and she wouldn’t let another female sleep next to her at night. To ensure her health, her keepers provided her with access to her “VIP” pool.Enjoy some alone time in the back pool suite as determined by our veterinary team.give her the best care.
Calypso are very smart sea lions and love their training sessions because they are such a positive experience. for himr. One of the medical trainings she participates in is showing the belly (cute, isn’t it?). This makes it easy for keepers to check her bites every morning, take pictures, and send updates to our veterinary team. Because sea lions live in seawater, Her wound is healing well! In addition to medication for discomfort, our team of veterinarians recently determined that Calypso has healed sufficiently and is no longer showing any signs of discomfort. She will return to her habitat for a specified period of time and will continue to be observed by dedicated keepers. Hi Calypso!
Jonah’s natural behavior during the breeding season causes him to stay away from them for the entire mating season. In September, when hormone levels drop, keepers slowly begin introducing him to new girls. This happens first in their habitat as the girls feel more protected due to their size and all the rock formations. Then I watched the time in the back bedroom and again tried to get everyone to sleep side by side.
Next time you visit the Galapagos Islands, you can see the Calypso and Sea Lion colonies at the Houston Zoo.