Editing Steller sea lion (section)

== Range ==
[[Image:Steller sealions bc 1.jpg|thumb|Steller sea lions congregate on rocks in the [[Gulf Islands]] of [[British Columbia]], Canada.]]

The [[Range (biology)|range]] of the Steller sea lion extends from the north shore of [[Honshu]] in Japan to the [[Gulf of Alaska]] in the north, down to [[Año Nuevo Island]] off the coast of central California to the south. They formerly bred as far south as the [[Channel Islands of California|Channel Islands]], but have not been observed there since the 1980s. Based on genetic anаlyses and local migration patterns, the global Steller sea lion population has traditionally been divided into an eastern and western stock at 144°W longitude, roughly through the middle of the Gulf of Alaska.<ref>[http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/sars/ak2009slst-w.pdf Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 2009]. (PDF) . Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref><ref>Allen, B. M., and R. P. Angliss (revised 25 November 2008) [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/sars/ak2009slst-e.pdf NOAA-TM-AFSC-206. STELLER SEA LION (''Eumetopias jubatus''): Eastern U. S. Stock]. (PDF).</ref> Recent evidence suggests the sea lions in Russia in the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] and the [[Kuril Islands]] comprise a third Asian stock, while the sea lions on the eastern seaboard of [[Kamchatka]] and the [[Commander Islands]] belong to the western stock.

In the summer, Steller sea lions tend to shift their range somewhat southward. Therefore, though there are no reproductive rookeries in Japan, several consistent [[hauling-out|haul-out]] sites are found around [[Hokkaidō]] in the winter and spring. Vagrants have been spotted in the [[Yellow Sea]] and [[Bohai Gulf]] and along the coast of the [[Korean Peninsula]] and China.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref>[https://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/sea-lions-and-fur-seals/steller-sea-lion "Steller Sea Lion (''Eumetopias jubatus'')" Seal Conservation Society] Accessed 25 April 2013</ref> The oldest fossil known of the species was found near [[Kanazawa]], Japan and dates to the late [[Early Pleistocene]], approximately 800,000 years ago.<ref name="Tsuzuku2020"/>