Tag: seals

Elephant seal’s parking effort called out by NPS

“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.”

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

A sea creature encounter these beachgoers will never forget

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.

Lifeguard has pointed response to girl harassing sea lion; video

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.

©Pete Thomas

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.

©Pete Thomas

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.

Surreal footage shows sea lions on dock practicing high dives

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.

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.”

Watch: Beachgoers in awe as great white shark ambushes seal

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