An adult sea lion, in the area of the Parque Nacional Corcovado, in the province of Puntarenas, surprised tourists and experts causing a stir.
Giovanny Morales, general manager of Casa Corcovado, said the animal was about an hour on the beach before returning to sea. “It looked like lost, misplaced,” said Morales.
Jenny Asch, a marine biologist from the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (National System of Conservation Areas), explained that the sea lions are generally carried inland by the sea current.
“They are cold water mammals. Very occasionally do they appear in the country. Feed on fish and are usually very quiet, but attack if threatened,” explained Asch.
In the past some sea lions have been spotted along Costa Rica’s coastline, though it is not a species that inhabits the area.
A sea lion weighs between 275 and 450 kilograms (between 600 and 990 pounds), and can dive to a depth of some 186 meters (610 feet) and stay underwater for up to 40 minutes.
The animals swim up to 40 kph (25 mph), though some people consider them lazy creatures because they like to relax and bask in the sun.
Six kinds of sea lion are still found in the waters of the world: the California, Steller, Australian, Galapagos, New Zealand and South American species.
Sources: La Nacion, Wikipedia