Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Footage shows a startled family retreating as an enormous elephant seal hauls ashore to rest in Mulege, Baja California Sur.
–FTW Outdoors periodically reposts unique or compelling video clips that we’ve featured over the years. The accompanying footage shows a massive elephant seal – they can weigh 4,500 pounds – hauling ashore in Mulege , Mexico, in July 2022, disrupting a family beach outing.
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A harbor seal in the Pacific Northwest on Friday found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale and in dire need of an exit plan.
A harbor seal in the Pacific Northwest on Friday found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale and in desperate need of an exit strategy.
The image atop this post, captured by Tim Filipovic of Eagle Wings Tours, shows the moment the seal realized it needed to be elsewhere, and quickly.
A secondary image, by Brooke Casanova of Blue Kingdom Whale & Wildlife Tours, reveals a similar expression of bewilderment and fear.
Erin Gless, executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, told FTW Outdoors that its member vessels were whale watching in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, southwest of Victoria, B.C., when the lunge-feeding whale scooped up the seal.
She described it as an “incredibly rare event” but stressed that the seal was not in danger of becoming prey.
“Humpback whales eat small fish and krill, not seals,” Gless explained. “While they have very large mouths, their throats are roughly the size of a grapefruit, so they can’t swallow something as large as a seal.”
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Humpback whales typically feed on bait fish by lunging, either vertically or horizontally, through large schools. They can take in thousands of fish in one gulp.
The female humpback whale that gulped the seal (temporarily) is scientifically cataloged as BCX1876, nicknamed Zillion.
Gless recalled how Zillion ended up with the pinniped in her mouth:
“At one point, Zillion opened her jaws and lunged toward the surface for a mouthful of fish, but got an unexpected surprise when she realized that mouthful also contained an unsuspecting harbor seal!
“The harbor seal was likely feeding on the same small fish and found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Zillion repeatedly opened her jaw and lowered her head into the water until the seal was able to swim away.”
In reference to the image atop this post, Gless remarked via Facebook that the seal looked “like a little kid in a wave pool.”
Footage captured in California’s Monterey Bay shows one orca using its flukes to fling a common murre nearly 20 feet skyward.
Orcas that prey on marine mammals sometimes “punt” seals or sea lions high into the air to stun the pinnipeds before meal time.
On Saturday in California’s Monterey Bay, one young orca was caught on video practicing its skills on a large seabird.
The accompanying footage, captured by Evan Brodsky of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows the orca using its flukes to launch a common murre nearly 20 feet skyward.
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“Killer Whales vs. Common Murres,” Brodsky described via Instagram. “Safe to say the Orca won. Bad Day to be a Murre.”
The killer whales, or orcas, were observed breaching and spyhopping near whale-watching vessels, while some were busy tormenting murres.
“They don’t call them demons from hell for nothing,” Brodsky joked in reference to the orcas, which did not eat any of the murres they harassed.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, said Brodsky’s footage revealed “a perfect example of the punting behavior.”
The researcher added, “They’re practicing for the pinnipeds when they do this. They might smack them with their heads or flukes, but the big thing is to use their flukes to throw them into the air so they’ll be stunned when they come down.”
The California Killer Whale Project identified the six-member family unit as the CA51As, led by the matriarch, nicknamed Aurora.
Brodsky captured his footage from aboard the Point Sur Clipper. The image atop this post, captured by Capt. Warren Asher of the Sea Wolf II, shows one of the killer whales breaching next to the Point Sur Clipper.
“When you pull into a spot, aim straight for the middle. Pulling too far forward into a spot could result in taking up two spots unnecessarily.”
A National Park Service employee recently captured an image showing a northern elephant seal resting in a parking lot at Point Reyes National Seashore.
Anyone who is fanatical about perfect placement between the lines will note that the seal could have been more considerate by inching a few feet to its left.
The NPS cleverly made light of the situation via Instagram:
“Ex-seal-lent parking job. Well, almost.
“A little on the line there, bud. When you pull into a spot, aim straight for the middle. Pulling too far forward into a spot could result in taking up two spots unnecessarily. Skirting the line can also impact your neighbor being able to open their door or how hard they will “accidentally” bump your car. Awkward.”
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More seriously, the NPS continued: “Always a best parking lot practice: drive slow, stay alert, make eye contact with pedestrians (or seals) to acknowledge their presence, not in a creepy way, and expect the unexpected at all times (like seals).”
Northern elephant seals are a popular attraction at Point Reyes National Seashore, especially during the winter with so many animals hauled out for the birthing and mating season.
–Image courtesy of NPS/K. Hernandez
Surreal footage showing a massive elephant seal hauling onto shore at a Mexican beach, startling beachgoers, is worth another look.
A news report on elephant seal bulls “surfing up onto the sand” for the molting season at a famous California rookery reminded me of an extraordinary event that occurred last July in Mexico.
The accompanying footage shows a massive elephant seal hauling out and frightening a family of beachgoers in Mulegé on the Sea of Cortez.
Mulegé is not an established rookery and this family probably had never experienced a close encounter with a creature so large and ominous-looking.
It turned out that the wayward mammal, which was spotted multiple times, was simply resting before returning to sea.
Northern elephant seals are the largest ‘true’ seals in the Northern Hemisphere and can weigh as much as 5,000 pounds. Their range includes the eastern and central North Pacific, from Alaska to Baja California.
They spend most of their time feeding at sea and typically come ashore at rookeries only to give birth, breed, and molt. Elephant seals can dive 2,500 feet in search of prey. They feed primarily on squid and fish, including sharks and rays.
The nearest significant elephant seal rookery to Mulegé is hundreds of miles away and around the Baja California peninsula, at Guadalupe Island west of Ensenada.
Seals and sea lions provide entertainment while enjoying a good life in the waters of the world
A young girl was caught on video tossing rocks and sand at a California sea lion last week in violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.
A young girl was caught on video tossing rocks and sand at a California sea lion last week in violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.
In the footage, captured Feb. 26 at San Diego’s La Jolla Cove, the girl is harassing the sea lion as it tries to rest on the beach.
The girl’s mother or guardian does not intervene until the lifeguard’s rebuke is heard over the loudspeakers: “Little girl in purple, you can leave now, thanks.” (Click here to view the TikTok video.)
TikTok user @raspberryblush_, who captured the footage, is quoted by CBS 8 as saying the girl “had thrown rocks/sand like two more times before this announcement.”
While the girl meant no harm, she was interrupting a wild animal trying to rest in its natural environment. Other tourists seen next to the mammal also violated federal distance guidelines.
Sadly, harassment of sea lions at La Jolla Cove is fairly routine because of the mammals’ close proximity to tourists. (I live nearby and captured the images in the body of this post.)
ALSO: Poachers caught with bald eagle they had shot, intended to eat
In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, people are asked not to approach within 50 yards of seals and sea lions, but that happens almost daily.
Harassment, which is against the law, is an action that alter’s a mammal’s behavior. Tossing objects at an animal is one such action.
La Jolla Cove receives so many visits by tourists that enforcement of the MMPA, which is not a task for lifeguards, would be impossible short of erecting barriers to keep people off the the rocks and beaches.
Fortunately, the sea lions at La Jolla Cove and harbor seals at nearby Children’s Pool have grown accustomed to the presence of humans. But they should still be regarded as dangerous, unpredictable animals.
A California whale-watching company has captured surreal footage showing sea lions diving from perches high upon a dock.
A California whale-watching company has captured surreal footage showing sea lions diving from perches high upon a wooden dock.
“It happens every so often if the timing is right when we’re passing by them on the boat,” Kate Cummings, owner of Blue Ocean Whale Watch in Moss Landing, told FTW Outdoors. “It’s always a crowd-pleaser with lots of cheering. I always stop the boat if it looks like one is thinking of jumping off.”
The accompanying slow-motion footage is somewhat bizarre because of muffled cheers from the boat and bellows from other sea lions gathered in the foreground, as if comprising an audience.
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Cummings’ video provides what appears to be an example of playful behavior and is reminiscent of extraordinary footage shared by FTW Outdoors in 2021, showing sea lions riding and leaping through massive waves near Santa Barbara Island.
That footage, captured by a documentary crew with Pacific Offshore Expeditions out of Newport Beach, is posted below.
Ryan Lawler, owner of Pacific Offshore Expeditions, described what he had witnessed as “an awesome moment.”
Lawler added: “I had never seen that before at this island, which is well known for its sea lions. So we stayed there for 20 minutes, observing and waiting for the sun to break up the fog. Then we dove [at another location] for about 90 minutes and came back, but all the sea lions had disappeared.”
Beachgoers in Provincetown, Mass., watched in awe Wednesday as a great white shark ambushed a seal just beyond the shore.
Beachgoers in Provincetown, Mass., watched in awe Wednesday as a great white shark ambushed a seal just beyond the shore.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shared the footage to Facebook, crediting Matt and Shannon Scully, explaining that the “predation” occurred at 1 p.m. off Race Point Beach.
The shark appears to have been spotted before it launched its surface attack, creating a giant foamy splash. In the footage a woman asks, “Did you guys see it?” just before the eruption, which inspires more commentary.
White sharks prey on gray seals during the summer and early fall off Cape Cod, and one person observed in the comments section that nobody was swimming at the time of Wednesday’s attack:
“People are getting smarter, as you notice, nobody in their right mind would swim in the waters on the outer Cape!”
Reads another comment: “That water drops off deep. You are neck deep in five steps. It’s ‘Jaws’ paradise.”
Scientists make the most of the white shark feeding season by tagging sharks, usually from July into early November, to learn more about their habits and movements.
–Image and video courtesy of Matt and Shannon Scully
