By: Melissa Zhao

Scientists around the world have already discovered so much about the forests, the mountains, and space that make up the natural world. But what about the ocean? Despite all the research scientists have done using robots and cameras, it is still hardly known what the ocean floor looks like. The aquatic world remains shrouded in mystery. However, a new and unlikely solution has been offered up: sea lions.

Sea lions with cameras mounted on their backs can map the ocean floor much better than any robot or human ever could. Because the ocean is their natural habitat, they can easily record the ocean and sea animals without scaring them off. Sea lions are also adapted to exploring the ocean, making it easy to dive down deep into the sea without difficulty.

Nathan Angelakis, a doctoral student at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences) and the University of Adelaide, called in some friends to help him with a mission to discover more about the Australian oceans by exploring the oceans themselves. Daphne, Iris, Phoebe, and Pasithea, with others, mounted underwater cameras and swam down to the ocean floor. However, Daphne, Iris, Phoebe, and Pasithea have an advantage: they are sea lions themselves.

With the four’s help, a video of a mother sea lion teaching her daughter how to hunt was captured, along with never-before-seen parts of the ocean floor. It is hoped that the footage will help scientists protect Australian sea lions, who are already endangered, and prevent the sea lions from becoming more endangered in Australia. With the new footage captured by the sea lions, scientists can gather more information about all endangered sea animals, not just sea lions, and protect all of them.

Usually, the sea floor is mapped by cameras towed by underwater vehicles, but those machines are costly and can be challenging to handle correctly, with complicated instructions. But, with the sea lions, much of the ocean floor was quickly captured by the camera as the sea lions swam. The footage of the sea lions has an interesting twist to it and offers a new perspective of the ocean floor. With 8 sea lions helping the project, Angelakis hopes that more of the ocean can be discovered and more endangered animals in the Australian ocean be helped.

“The more we learn about [sea lions], the better chance we’ll have to manage them and protect them,” Dr. Dan Costa, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said. “[They’re] just a really cool, interesting animal, and so [they deserve] a place in the world.”

In total, the sea lions gathered 89 hours of footage that Nathan Angelakis and his colleagues reviewed. With their help, scientists hope to prevent endangered animals from becoming more endangered, and perhaps even allow the animals to thrive once again.