PARACAS SEA LIONS // The Paracas National park is a great example of how the Humboldt Current's cold water that flow from the south creates subtropical desert conditions, as well as some of the world's most productive conditions for fish and their dependent marine mammals and birds. Anchovy, sardine, hake, smooth and spotted dogfish are the more common of the more than 160 fish species that living in the park's coastal waters. The photosynthetic basis for these fishes are some 254 species of marine plankton and some benthic algae on the coastal rocks. Two species of Sea Lions, Sea Otters and many marine birds live off the Anchovy and other fishes, scallop, crab, abalone and octopus, while in turn Orcas and whales prey on the predators. The area is also home to marine reptiles: Green, Leatherback and Hawksbill turtles. More than 225 migratory bird species spend time in Paracas, some 60 of which coming from the USA. Among the endangered or vulnerable species are: Humboldt penguin, Peruvian diving petrel, Pelecanoides garnotii, Blue-footed booby and Peruvian booby // Assignment for World Wide Fund - WWF USA.