Assess if a period of acute fasting affects the metabolic cost of foraging in Steller sea lions and determine how quickly such metabolic changes reverse when animals have access to food. Further to determine if fasting-induced changes in foraging cost vary with seasons. Such data will reveal if there are particular times of the year when Steller sea lions are particularly vulnerable to alterations in prey availability. This information can be incorporated into future bioenergetic models for estimation of total energy budgets and food requirement of wild Steller sea lions and may help with management decisions.