Sea lion friend or foe?
Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 8:38 pm
On Sunday JPA, myself and another dive buddy ventured out to Blakely Rock. Currents were predicted to be very nice and we left early to dive China wall and then the east reef (Shangri-La) at slack. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was just coming up as we departed the Alki boat launch. A quick 10 minute ride and we approached the rock and anchored (albeit not without some issues).
The three of us geared up and dropped down the anchor line to find the anchor just at the top of the wall which wasn't our intention. We began proceeding east along the base of the wall and there was actually a slight westward current. JPA was in front, I followed and our other buddy brought up the rear. I felt something pulling on my flipper and turned around to see what my buddy wanted but I only saw his light in the distance.
I was about to video a rhino crab when JPA flashed me. He had found a small wolf eel. While I was deciding whether or not to take video, JPA flashed me again. I look at him and he points in one direction. Now I know what was pulling on my flippers! A large sea lion was circling us. It's the largest one I've been up close in the water with. We usually get buzzed by them on the rock, but this one was persistent.
At one point, the sea lion perched on the top of the wall and just looked at us. It seemed mesmerized by the lights. Then it lifted off and the fun began! He began to buzz by us acrobatically and very close. He'd pause, head fake and bluff charge. It was an impressive show! Then it started to get a bit more intense. He took a liking to JPA, swam up face to face, then bit him a couple times on the head! Then he swam towards me and I could tell wanted to do something similar but I had my camera and light array as a defense.
It was most likely the case it was just playing with us. But, with its size and increasing aggressiveness, we decided getting back on the boat would be wise. It followed us up the water column as we did a free ascent. It would breach the surface above us and come diving back down. We surfaced and it came up just a bit in front of us and showed us its teeth. Or was it a smile?
Back on the boat we saw it pop up a few more times. We decided to abandon the east reef and call it after one exciting encounter.
What has been your experience with large sea lions? Is it best to run away when they're behaving in such a manner? Looking at the video now, I'm wishing I'd have hung out with it longer!
Here's the video evidence!
The three of us geared up and dropped down the anchor line to find the anchor just at the top of the wall which wasn't our intention. We began proceeding east along the base of the wall and there was actually a slight westward current. JPA was in front, I followed and our other buddy brought up the rear. I felt something pulling on my flipper and turned around to see what my buddy wanted but I only saw his light in the distance.
I was about to video a rhino crab when JPA flashed me. He had found a small wolf eel. While I was deciding whether or not to take video, JPA flashed me again. I look at him and he points in one direction. Now I know what was pulling on my flippers! A large sea lion was circling us. It's the largest one I've been up close in the water with. We usually get buzzed by them on the rock, but this one was persistent.
At one point, the sea lion perched on the top of the wall and just looked at us. It seemed mesmerized by the lights. Then it lifted off and the fun began! He began to buzz by us acrobatically and very close. He'd pause, head fake and bluff charge. It was an impressive show! Then it started to get a bit more intense. He took a liking to JPA, swam up face to face, then bit him a couple times on the head! Then he swam towards me and I could tell wanted to do something similar but I had my camera and light array as a defense.
It was most likely the case it was just playing with us. But, with its size and increasing aggressiveness, we decided getting back on the boat would be wise. It followed us up the water column as we did a free ascent. It would breach the surface above us and come diving back down. We surfaced and it came up just a bit in front of us and showed us its teeth. Or was it a smile?
Back on the boat we saw it pop up a few more times. We decided to abandon the east reef and call it after one exciting encounter.
What has been your experience with large sea lions? Is it best to run away when they're behaving in such a manner? Looking at the video now, I'm wishing I'd have hung out with it longer!
Here's the video evidence!