The California sea lion is currently classified as Lower Risk / Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and at present the population is quite capable of recovering from limited conflict with humans and the occasional El Niño event. As long as there is enough food, and some level of protection remains, it is thought that there is no immediate threat to the survival of the California sea lion. The extinction of the Japanese sea lion, however, reminds us that there can be limits to the recovery of populations from high mortality, especially for the smaller population in Mexico, where human interaction combined with natural stress may make recovery more difficult (2).