Editing Sea lion (section)

=== Population ===
''Otaria flavescens'' (South American sea lion) lives along the Chilean coast with a population estimate of 165,000. According to the most recent surveys in northern and southern Chile the sealing period of the middle twentieth century that left a significant decline in sea lion population is recovering. The recovery is associated with less hunting, otariids rapid population growth, legislation on nature reserves, and new food resources. Haul-out patterns change the abundance of sea lions at particular times of the day, month, and year. Patterns in migration relate to temperature, solar radiation, and prey and water resources. Studies of South American sea lions and other otariids document maximum population on land during early afternoon, potentially due to haul-out during high air temperatures. Adult and subadult males do not show clear annual patterns, maximum abundance being found from October to January. Females and their pups hauled-out during austral winter months of June to September.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5232329.pdf|title = Annual, seasonal and daily variation in the abundance of the South American sea lion ''Otaria flavescens'' in two breeding colonies in northern Chile|last = Sepulveda|first = Maritza|date = August 2015|journal = Revista de Biologia Marina y Oceanografia|doi = 10.4067/S0718-19572015000300001|access-date = 29 October 2015|volume = 50|issue = 2|pages = 205–220|doi-access = free|archive-date = 16 November 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231116191539/https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5232329.pdf|url-status = live}}</ref>