This is GREAT news!!
The eastern population of the Steller sea lion will be taken off the threatened species list!!
The sea lions usually live around Alaska’s Panhandle down to California’s Channel Islands.
What’s AH-mazing is these cute creatures are the first species to be taken off the threatened list in 19 years!!
The last animal the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) took off the list was the eastern North Pacific gray whale… and that was back in 1994!
Back in 1979, there were only about 18,000 of the critters floating around. Now there are over 70,000!!
A NOAA spokesperson said:
“While they are being removed from the list of threatened and endangered species, they are still provided a good measure of protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.”
Well that’s good to hear!! At least they’ll remain safe and hopefully never get back onto that list!
Now let’s work on getting the western population of Steller sea lions off the threatened list, okay??
Go, sea lions! Yeah!!
[Image via AP Images.]
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