sea lions

[MXGratefulDiver]

I had the opportunity to dive with some stellar sea lions last week-end, off the most western tip of Washington State in Neah Bay. Thought I'd share some pics ...

Not quite sure what this behavior was all about, play or some kind of ritual. She grabbed ahold of some kelp ...




... then, like a cat presenting a catch to its owner, she offered it to me ...




There were between 6 and 20 of them in our vicinity at any given time, being quite ... interactive. One of them decided that my dive buddy needed his head examined ...



She actually tried putting his head in her mouth (he claims he could feel her teeth) ... I did get a picture, but it's completely obscured by bubbles (imagine that) ...


... another one wanted to find out what his fin tasted like ...




This one laid on the ground and gave me this stare, like a submissive puppy ...






They were quite fascinated by the camera ... getting right up into the lens port, and even trying to bite the camera housing from time to time ...




... of course, they were getting in each other's faces as well ...




... say ahhhhh ...




This is where they all came from ... the ones we were playing with were the females ... the small ones in this picture ...



... when Big Daddy showed up we decided it was time to leave, since we were uncertain whether he'd be amused or annoyed that we were playing with his women ... :shocked2: ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[SeaTriskeLion]

That is awesome! I love sea lions.

 

[drrich2]

Beautiful animals, and sweet pics of them. From an old post about them, IIRC these guys get a good deal larger than California sea lions. In that old thread, I believe the poster mentioned one opening its jaws & putting them on someone's head. It didn't bite down, and this was presumably an intimidation maneuver to persuade the divers into leaving, but stuck in my mind.

In When Sea Lions Attack!, spt29970 reported:

I recently returned from a 10 day dive trip through SE Alaska aboard the Nautilus Swell. We had a great time and the diving was wonderful. In this thread I want to recount an encounter with an unruly mob of Steller Sea Lions.

Alaska is home to a large population of Stellers. Like California Sea Lions they are very curious and playful. The big difference is that Stellers are MUCH bigger and MUCH more aggressive. We were diving near Inian Island when a group of Stellers decided to play with us. I was the only one in the group with a big camera and they were really interested in it. They liked the strobes on the arms and their reflections in the dome port. Like puppy dogs, everything goes in the mouth. The only problem is that these playful sea dogs were 1000-2500lbs and have really big teeth! Think of a Grizzly Bear with flippers!

First they started to nibble at my strobes, then the strobe cords, and drysuit. After a while we had 20 animals whirling around us. They started bashing me in the face with their flippers, repeatedly flooding my mask. I was pressed against the bottom, wedging my camera in a crack and trying to cover my head. Then they decided to nibble on my head. Believe me when a 1000+lb animal puts your head entirely in its mouth and bites down, it is more than a little intimidating! I was really glad that a few years ago I invested in a super-thick hood that has 1/2" of stiff neoprene. The Stellers were just playing, but they play rough! You can see how they bite each other and most of them are covered with cuts and gouges. Fortunately his teeth didn't get through the 1" of rubber on my head (1/2" x 2 sides) and make it to flesh and bone. I didn't get too many photos because I was having a problem with my strobe and I spent much of the dive just covering my head. They kept coming back and ended up biting me in the head about 6 or 7 times. Even when I decided to hide in the kelp, you could just see the look on their face. "Oh boy, we LOVE playing in the kelp, Chomp..."

And Darnold 9999 noted:

Lots of pups around at this time of the year. Really sounds like they were telling you to get lost more than playing.

We had a similar experience at Croker rock at the entrance to Browning Passage (Northern Vancouver Island). Not as rough as your experience, but they did manage to puncture one of the group's drysuit. I of course missed the whole thing as I was focused on macro and didn't even look up when one came by to bump me. However the others in the group were extremely excited at the end of the dive and the video was pretty spectacular. (Not mine to post.) Like a group of unruly puppies - that outweigh you by 7 or 800 lbs.

My point in posting this is 2-fold:

1.) These things get big.

2.) They may behave rougher or more aggressively than some people are looking for.

I hope to be blessed with a California trip in late summer 2016, and I'd like to dive with California sea lions (which can do their own damage, of course)!

But stellars? I'd want a little reassurance.

What's the general diver consensus on diving with stellar sea lions? Is this something people often go looking for, or deal with it when it happens?

Richard.

 

[Clernix]

Awesome Pics! Have to try out some of that cold water diving.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Great pics!
Some of the funnest dives I've ever had involved juvenile sea lions. I remember at the Channel Islands once they had me laughing so hard I thought I was going to choke on my reg and I'd have to do an ESA.

 

[Hawkwood]

What's the general diver consensus on diving with stellar sea lions? Is this something people often go looking for, or deal with it when it happens?

Richard.

We run a trip to dive with them every year. I'm leading one in mid-February. Join us. You will never have so much fun underwater.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1652630341677503/

 

[THRASH]

Very cool! I hope to see some sea lions eventually.

 

[drbill]

Never dived with Stellars before, only the California sea lion. They can be VERY playful. Years ago I filmed them down at Los Islotes off La Paz in the Sea of Cortez. One played with a starfish, another "played" with a fang blenny but most of them played with our fins and the anchor chain. In the image below you can see the sea lion with the sea star in the upper left and one attempting to swallow my video camera housing and all (upper right)

 

[SeaTriskeLion]

one attempting to swallow my video camera housing and all (upper right)

Haha, that's a great shot!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

We run a trip to dive with them every year. I'm leading one in mid-February. Join us. You will never have so much fun underwater.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1652630341677503/

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I'll miss you by a few days ... I'll be at Rob and Amanda's place Feb. 5-8 ... hoping for some sea lion action on my birthday (Feb. 6) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)