New records of non-resident pinnipeds from the Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

Although the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is the only pinniped resident in the Gulf of California, there are occasional records of 3 additional species; here we report 4 recent records of the Guadalupe fur seal (Artocephalus townsendi), 6 of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and 2 of the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). Harbor seals have been observed mostly during the winter-spring months of El Niño years, before water temperature warms in the summer. It is possible that juveniles and subadult and adult males of A. townsendi and M. angustirostris are using the Gulf as an alternative feeding area during the season of intensive feeding as individuals disperse more and more widely as their populations grow.