Evergreen Dive Service soaring with Sea Lions

[Agent 47]

Got to dive the san juans yesterday with a group from Evergreen Dive Service and got some cool footage diving with Stellar Sea Lions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHxTaFAbpR4[/youtube]

[spatman]

Like.

[LCF]

Oh, that is SO cool! The most I've ever seen on a dive was one of them. Thanks for sharing the video.

[ktb]

Awesome! Did a dive with 20+ Sea Lions off the Coronado Islands (San Diego charter), and it is probably my #1 favorite dive so far. They are just beautiful creatures in the water.

[mz53480]

Nice!

Whale rock?

[H20doctor]

where did you dive ...? I want to dive there

[Rockfish]

Nice video!

Not to rain on your parade but just so everyone knows in case they did not already know that Stellar Sea Lions are listed as an endangered species and are covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. While it did not look like in any way that you were harassing these animals you could be viewed as doing so by those charged with enforcing the MMPA. I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest but there are some people that take the MMPA provisions very seriously and I would hate to see anyone's dive day ruined by a citation.

Any way nice video and it takes some big cajones to sit still while 700 - 1000 pound animals are swimming at and around you.

Mike

[lavachickie]

Wonderful video. Thanks so much for sharing. So sleek and peaceful in the water, these gentle puppydogs of the sea. They are so big, and it's easy for forget that when they are zooming around! I saw only one in the water myself in the Channel Islands last week, and it was a beautiful sight. Others saw more; I think I didn't because I was wanting it too badly. =-) I was putting out a creepy vibe and the seapups stayed away.

[nwscubamom]

That's some nice footage there of those Stellers!

Unfortunately, I (and others) have had some pretty BAD experiences with this species (Steller) before on dives. Scary experiences - where there was a lot of aggression, barking underwater and biting going on - even biting that drew blood on some divers and poked teeth holes in their hoods. Not a fun experience at all. I was out at East Tatoosh Island, another friend was up in Alaska, and another, a WDFW biologist (Tony Parra) was also at East Tatoosh when he experienced his encounter with Stellers.

(BTW, don't confuse Stellers with California Sea Lions, which don't seem to be as aggressive towards divers.)

Although your experience here looks pretty tame, and there's just a lot of graceful swooping by teenagers, (glad Mom or Dad didn't come and pay you a visit!) I generally now give these guys a WIDE BERTH and would caution divers from purposely diving near a haulout area.

These are large animals, powerful animals, and remember - WILD animals.

Mom has spoken.

- Janna

[Agent 47]

Oh they are absolutely dangerous. Most of the editing I had to do was to take out all the jerking from being hit and bit. I was standing on the bottom completely exposed 60feet down and had 20 of them swarming around me. several times my concentration was broken by being head butted from behind or by the fealing of jaws big enough to swallow my head whole nipping at my suit. you dont appreciate the power of these animals untill you are in the water with them. I have dove with california sea lions dozens of times but it is like compairing a puppy dog with a wolf. as long as we kept our profile low and watched our body language they were ok but as soon as we tried to get to the surface the situation turned ugly quick. the last shot was taken on our safety stop, we had to wait untill they went up for air and then made a break for it. that big one found us in mid water and I was using my camera to fend him off. he was around 12 feet long and absolutely agressive. You see them blowing bubbles in my face and it looks all cute but bubbles are a clear signal of agression and the more bubbles we blew back the more pissed off they got. me and my buddy spent most of the dive back to back just to protect ourselves from being attacked from behind. It was insaine... I wouldnt trade the experience for anything but it was insane!

You look at this video of a Stellar in captivity. It has been "aclimated" to humans and you knotice every time the guy stands up it reacts very agressively. They respond to body language, unfortunatly the bubbles from our regulators and our need to stop groveling on the bottom and get to the surface sent all the wrong signals.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKAulsb5 ... re=related[/youtube]

[dieseldude]

Looks like a cool experience.
MJ

[nwscubamom]

So I'm curious - was this a PLANNED trip to dive with the Stellars that you did with this group? I mean, you decided ahead of time this was something you wanted to do and knew of their haulout location? Or how did this go down?

- Janna

[Norris]

So I'm curious - was this a PLANNED trip to dive with the Stellars that you did with this group? I mean, you decided ahead of time this was something you wanted to do and knew of their haulout location? Or how did this go down?

- Janna

Ouch be careful how you answer those questions....it may be a TRAP!!

[octo$teve43]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKVVTQHvuF0[/youtube]

this should give you a good perspective of how big the stellar sea lions were.

[Nwbrewer]

So I'm curious - was this a PLANNED trip to dive with the Stellars that you did with this group? I mean, you decided ahead of time this was something you wanted to do and knew of their haulout location? Or how did this go down?

- Janna

Ouch be careful how you answer those questions....it may be a TRAP!!

Seriously, we need a loaded question smiley.

[sheahanmcculla]

You and Steven are nuts! Especially you Aaron...no gloves and no hood! You are crazy, and I love every bit of it. Can you find some six gills next?

[mz53480]

Seriously, we need a loaded question smiley.

1

1.jpg (9.52 KiB) Viewed 1978 times

[Norris]

Seriously, we need a loaded question smiley.

1.jpg

[Tom Nic]

So sleek and peaceful in the water, these gentle puppydogs of the sea.

Uhmm..... No. At least not on the gentle part.

Oh they are absolutely dangerous. Most of the editing I had to do was to take out all the jerking from being hit and bit.

Thanks Agent 47 for your follow-up post and description - very well done!

This looks like a cool dive and an amazing experience... I know that some go all "dive-nazi" on folks when they post dives that are, shall we say, a bit edgy. It's my opinion that as long as people know the risks and choose to take them it's their business how they dive. But I do think we have a responsibility to tell more of "the rest of the story" as well.

Your initial post didn't mention anything about the aggressive nature of the Stellars, and it would be easy to draw the wrong conclusion as a newer or uninformed diver. I'm glad that the thread played out a bit more and that the behavior of the Stellars was made a bit clearer. Lavachickie's post about "gentle puppydogs" illustrates my point...

Also, Hmmm.... did I see H2ODoc make a post in the thread and then self edit? If so, Good Job Chris! (If not, my bad, and please ignore!) Nobody likes to be lectured about the dives they choose to do, but I still think that those of us who might do more advanced or "edgy" dives and then post them in public forums should at least talk a bit about the potential downside of those dives to not give the wrong impression. I'm not saying you need a disclaimer every time you talk about a tech dive... and I'm not trying to set up some kind of "rule"... I'm just thinking outloud as I read this thread through again.

[Norris]

So sleek and peaceful in the water, these gentle puppydogs of the sea.

Uhmm..... No. At least not on the gentle part.

Oh they are absolutely dangerous. Most of the editing I had to do was to take out all the jerking from being hit and bit.

Thanks Agent 47 for your follow-up post and description - very well done!

This looks like a cool dive and an amazing experience... I know that some go all "dive-nazi" on folks when they post dives that are, shall we say, a bit edgy. It's my opinion that as long as people know the risks and choose to take them it's their business how they dive. But I do think we have a responsibility to tell more of "the rest of the story" as well.

Your initial post didn't mention anything about the aggressive nature of the Stellars, and it would be easy to draw the wrong conclusion as a newer or uninformed diver. I'm glad that the thread played out a bit more and that the behavior of the Stellars was made a bit clearer. Lavachickie's post about "gentle puppydogs" illustrates my point...

Also, Hmmm.... did I see H2ODoc make a post in the thread and then self edit? If so, Good Job Chris! (If not, my bad, and please ignore!) Nobody likes to be lectured about the dives they choose to do, but I still think that those of us who might do more advanced or "edgy" dives and then post them in public forums should at least talk a bit about the potential downside of those dives to not give the wrong impression. I'm not saying you need a disclaimer every time you talk about a tech dive... and I'm not trying to set up some kind of "rule"... I'm just thinking outloud as I read this thread through again.

[spatman]

Uhmm.....

+1. well said, tom.

[Joshua Smith]

"....such beauty and power! She could easily have crushed me, but she seemed playful and almost frisky as she piroutted around me, closer and closer. I was spellbound by her grace, the poetry of her movements. Suddenly, she brushed up against my leg. We both froze...and then, slowly, she began to work upwards. I gasped, as warmth flooded through my body.
Before the friction became unbearable, she broke away, and suddenly Eww were face to face. Our eyes locked. I knew what she wanted, and every fiber of my being wanted to give it to her. My mask started to fill with tears as I mumbled through my regulator: "No! We can't! It is forbidden by the Marine Mammal Protection Act!" But the words sounded hollow, even to me. Inside, my heart was on fire, and rapidly melting my resolve..."

[whatevah]

FWIW, the Stellers in San Juan Channel are quite accustomed to divers and I haven't heard anyone say they'd been overly aggressive. The charters go there and drop divers off at Whale Rocks all the time - perhaps because of the sea lions - site has always seemed quite dull to me otherwise. Nice footage from a very cool encounter! They always seem impressive in the water - graceful, lithe, large and in-charge (and they're all worth treating with some respect), but they don't grow to 12ft in length. I've seen some a few younger bulls out there but generally (as seen in this video) there's a mix of immature bulls, cows and pups - a harem. When you see a fully grown bull their 10'+ length and 2000lbs+ bulk is readily apparent. They have a very broad neck and skull, humped forehead and a maned appearance. There is a small gang of bulls who "own" Stubbs Island (Weynton Passage, BC), and when you come face to face with them in the water they look just like Grizzlies. Hard to believe that a creature you just saw groaning to move a few ungainly inches on shore is agile enough to leave your head spinning in the water.

Years ago I was diving with some really cute California Sea Lions in the northern Channel Islands - one young bull took a big interest in my camera's shiny housing, and then sat beside me on the sandy substrate, looking directly into my eyes. We couldn't have been separated by more than a foot - and we just stared, for what seemed like minutes. I think he was looking at his reflection in my mask. Suddenly he barked right in my face and the noise, rush of bubbles, and sudden movement just about made me swallow my regulator. They love to play, but I'm pretty sure there is some body language that doesn't quite translate properly from diver to sea lion - it doesn't take much for a misunderstanding to develop and then they like to make sure you understand who is boss.

[ljjames]

LOLOLOL!

"....such beauty and power! She could easily have crushed me, but she seemed playful and almost frisky as she piroutted around me, closer and closer. I was spellbound by her grace, the poetry of her movements. Suddenly, she brushed up against my leg. We both froze...and then, slowly, she began to work upwards. I gasped, as warmth flooded through my body.
Before the friction became unbearable, she broke away, and suddenly Eww were face to face. Our eyes locked. I knew what she wanted, and every fiber of my being wanted to give it to her. My mask started to fill with tears as I mumbled through my regulator: "No! We can't! It is forbidden by the Marine Mammal Protection Act!" But the words sounded hollow, even to me. Inside, my heart was on fire, and rapidly melting my resolve..."

[Joshua Smith]

Oops. I seem to have lost my ability to edit posts when I stepped sown as a mod. That last one was a
, uhm...trip report....from a different,uh....website. could someone just replace it with what I meant to write?

"Always follow all the rules all the time, no matter how sexy the animals are."