Japanese Sea Lion

The Japanese Sea Lion is thought to have gone extinct in the 1950's. Little is know about them. They were found in marine and coastal areas in the Sea of Japan. They breed in flat, ooen and Sandy beaches and sometimes in rocky areas. They went extinct because they were captured for the circus trade, their skin was used for oil, internal organs were valuable to use for oriental medicine, and their whiskers were used as pipe cleaners. Fishermen killed many, and durning WWII it is said that Japanese soldiers used them as target practice.