Where to see
Otaria byronia
Paracas National Reserve leads · 5 parks ranked by real sighting rates
Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Southern Sea Lion during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)
| # | Park | Country | Sighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paracas National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Falkland Islands | 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands | |
| 4 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Tierra del Fuego National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
Paracas National Reserve
In Paracas National Reserve, Peru, about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Sea Lion sighting on a given day, the highest of the 5 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.
Península Valdés and more
After Paracas National Reserve, the next-best odds of seeing a Southern Sea Lion are in Península Valdés (Argentina, about 80%), Falkland Islands (Falkland Islands, about 60%) and Machalilla National Park (Ecuador, about 30%).
It depends on the park
In the top parks, the best months are February to November in Paracas National Reserve (about 90%), January and July–September in Península Valdés (about 90%) and October and December in Falkland Islands (about 80%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Southern Sea Lion on a given day. Each park's Southern Sea Lion page has the full month-by-month chart.
