Food Habits Sea lions foods include fish such as the northern anchovy and hake, and also lampreys, octopus and squid. Sea lions may feed both diurnally and nocturnally. Reproduction The breeding range of Z. c. californianus seems to be from the southern end of the range northward to the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California. After the breeding season, the males migrate northward along the coast of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The females and young usually stay in the breeding area.
Females give birth to a single pup.
Female sea lions in North America do not clean their pups, but females of the subspecies that lives on the Galapagos Islands do. Females actively solicit the males to copulate with them, and she is the one to terminate the copulation. The copulation occurs in shallow waters. Females have been noticed to copulate with subadult males while the territorial male sleeps. These matings are succesful four out of five times.