Monterey Diving 12-23/24-10

[Larry C]

Thanks, all, for the kind words. Bill, I'm jealous! It's 30 degrees here right now and I'm wishing I were going to Hawaii. (My wife is headed for Coz in a week, but I can't go, darn it!)

Sealions LOVE to defin the mola-molas, play with them like Frisbees and then let them slowly die.

Sadly, yes. About a month ago, I watched as a Sea Lion zipped down from the surface and snatched the Mola I was trying to shoot a picture of. Of course, I missed the shot! When we finished the dive, she was still flinging it about on the surface, to the joy of a host of gulls who were picking up the bits. Apparently, the Sea Lions find the Molas inedible except for the fins, but they take great pleasure in pulling off the fins and tossing them around. Afterward, the Molas will flounder on the bottom until they starve and are eaten by sea stars.

 

[xariatay]

Sealions LOVE to defin the mola-molas, play with them like Frisbees and then let them slowly die.

Sadly, yes. About a month ago, I watched as a Sea Lion zipped down from the surface and snatched the Mola I was trying to shoot a picture of. Of course, I missed the shot! When we finished the dive, she was still flinging it about on the surface, to the joy of a host of gulls who were picking up the bits. Apparently, the Sea Lions find the Molas inedible except for the fins, but they take great pleasure in pulling off the fins and tossing them around. Afterward, the Molas will flounder on the bottom until they starve and are eaten by sea stars.

Thanks for the explanations! Now I remembered, Larry had told us about the "vicious" sea-lions...

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Great images, Larry. Mola molas are definitely on my "bucket list". Are they common out there?

Doug

 

[Larry C]

In the past, I've seen a few each year. This year, possibly due to the jelly infestation we've had, there have been a substantial number since early fall. They're usually little guys, about 14-18". I've only seen one big one, though a couple of local divers have seen big Molas in the past. It's rare. Maybe they're breeding nearby.
I don't know much about them, but some nature show I was watching recently (Earth: Deep Oceans, I think) said they hang out at about 2000 feet and enjoy jellies. Since we're right off the Monterey Canyon at about 12,000 feet, we get upwellings of nutrients during spring and fall when the wind blows. That makes us really popular with the whales and other stuff that feed off Plankton, krill, etc.

 

[clgsamson]

I've yet to see one Mola. Very nice set, Larry.