Like many other sea creatures, Australian sea lion populations suffered at the hands of hunters throughout the 1800's and early 1900's. Unfortunately, hunters so depleted their numbers that they were given special "protected" status in western Australia in 1892. Years later, other providences also gave special status to the sea lions. They are listed as "rare" under South Australian legislation, and in 1964, they were given full protection by the South Australian government. It has also been protected by Australian national legislature since 1975. Due to this, sea lion deaths have been greatly reduced, and the species is finally now making a comeback.

Thanks to the protection allowed by the Australian government, much research into the habits of these creatures has been done. Scientists have been able to estimate that there are currently about 10,000 to 12,000 sea lions found between the Pages Islands in South Australia and off the western Australia coast. The principle breeding colonies for the Australian sea lions can be found on Kangaroo Island and Dangerous Reef in south Australia, and they have been found as far north as New South Wales, Victoria, and Shark Bay in western Australia, and as far south as Tasmania.

The primary threats to the sea lion come now come from poachers who hunt them for their hides and oil. They also face threats from fishermen because the sea lions will frequently get caught in fishing nets, particularly the shark nets, and end up being killed by strangulation. This species is also very sensitive to human disturbance, especially during their breeding season.

The breeding season for the Australian sea lion takes place October through November. The sea lions breed on rocks and sandy beaches, and they breed every other year. The female sea lions are mature at three years of age, and the males are mature at about six years. Once they have mated, the gestation period will last for about ten to twelve months.

The pups when they are born, they have a chocolate brown fur coat that molts to a dark brown in four to six months. The mothers nurse the pups for 15-18 months, but after ten days after the pup is born, the mother will go out to sea to feed, spending about two days at sea, and then one to two days ashore with the pup. When they do go out to feed, mostly on salmon and fiddler crabs, they stay close to shore in case the pups are threatened by older bull sea lions.

In ideal conditions, the sea lions can live up to 17-25 years. Unfortunately, many sea lions never live that long as there is a 40% mortality rate in pups, and they are still suffering from disease and accidents with fishing nets.

There is still a lot of research being done to see if anything can be done to help save the sea lions from accidental fishing deaths. Since they have been given protected status by the providences in Australia, this species is starting to make a dramatic comeback. As long as this status is kept up, and more research is done, there is hope that this species can continue to thrive.