Ready for a dip

  

We paused for a picnic lunch in northern Sonoma County today (30 August 2025) and noticed a very large sea lion on an offshore rock. 

With a closer view, we could see that it was a Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus).  Note the paler fur color and the shorter snout (relative to California Sea Lion).

After a few minutes, the sea lion lumbered down the rock face to a low corner.  Note the very long flippers: 

 

 

 

 

 

The sea lion was perched on the edge of the rock, but we sensed that it might not be in that position for very long:

 

 

 

 

I thought the sea lion might continue moving down along the rock towards the edge of the water, but instead it launched (!) off the rock and dove directly into the water:  

 

 

 

Even along the coast today it was warm enough that I considered doing the same thing! 

 

Sunset swim

  

Sleek sea lions swimming and surfacing at sunset, 18 October 2022

Checking in?

  

Well, I haven't been able to sort through my sea lion photos yet, but here are a couple more from 22 May 2022.  

A very large Steller Sea Lion approached a smaller individual.  I don't have much experience with this species, so I'm not totally sure what was going on.  

At first I thought it might be a large male interacting with a small female, but it seemed more like a mother-pup interaction.  Later I read that females have been seen nursing yearlings and older juveniles.  So perhaps this is a large female and a juvenile?

 

 

If you have thoughts about the identities of these individuals or about the interaction, I'd love to hear more.

Stellar Steller

  

We were hearing some sea lions while doing field work recently and when I looked out to an offshore rock, I could see them in the distance.  I thought it might be too far for my camera lens, but I ended up with a few interesting photos.  

The animal in the center is a very (very!) large Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus).  Adult males can be up to 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) long and weigh an average of 1000 kg (2200 lbs, or 1 ton).  They are the largest otariid (sea lions and fur seals) in the world.

The animals directly in front and behind the large Steller Sea Lion are California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus).  (I'll talk more about the differences in a future post.)  But the animals in the lower left corner are also Steller Sea Lions — perhaps a large female and a smaller juvenile.

Quiet times

 

We've had to do some field work down near Carmel, CA, so here are a few quick shots from the Point Lobos area on 30 August 2019.

Below, these sea otters were a bit distant, but it's always nice to see them.  (The otter in foreground with a paler face is an adult, while the otter in the background with the darker facial fur is a juvenile.)

 

Not a drift log

I was driving along Westshore Road at the north end of Bodega Harbor this morning when an unusual silhouette in the water caught my eye.  I said to myself, "Hmmm...I don't think that's a drift log."

 

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are rare in the Bodega Bay area, so I stopped to take a few pictures:

 

The otter was resting while floating on its back:

 

  

Eventually it swam (with a corkscrew motion) further from shore.  Here's a picture with the Spud Point Marina in the background:

 

This is the third sea otter I've seen in the Bodega Bay region (during the past 12 years).  The first was near the harbor entrance in December 2006; and the second was found dead (from a shark attack) on Salmon Creek Beach in September 2011.  [We also heard about one photographed from a sailboat in Bodega Bay in April 2015.]

Who knows if sea otters will ever become established in this area again, but for now it's always fun to see them whenever they wander this way.

 

The little bear with the beautiful nose

While Eric and I were doing a beach survey tonight, we looked up from searching for small invertebrates near our feet to see a mammal in the distance moving towards the surf:

 

For a while, it swam close to shore:

 

And then it re-emerged onto the beach.  [I should mention that all of these pictures are heavily cropped; we watched respectfully from a distance.]

 

We were both excited and worried to see a young fur seal.  Although The Marine Mammal Center has handled a record number of stranded fur seals this year, I've only seen them at sea, and Eric had never seen one before.  Fur seals are pelagic, spending most of their life offshore.  Seeing one on the beach could mean that the animal wasn't healthy (although this one appeared energetic).

This fur seal started to groom with its very long hind flippers:

 

The whole time we were there it groomed various parts of its body with its hind flippers — it was amazing to see how flexible it was!

 

I don't have experience identifying Northern Fur Seals and Guadalupe Fur Seals.  I've tried reading about them, and my best guess for this individual is a Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus).

I'm basing the identification on the short snout and rounded forehead...long ears...extremely long hind flippers...and a lack of fur past the wrist on the upper side of the front flippers.  That said, if you have more experience and can help confirm or correct this identification, please let me know.

You might have noticed that this fur seal is tagged — look for the orange tag on the front right flipper in the last picture.  I'm not sure if this means it was tagged at a breeding colony, or if it's a rehabilitated animal that was released.  Perhaps someone familiar with fur seal tags could provide additional information.

P.S.  Callorhinus means "beautiful nose" and ursinus means "bear-like," hence the name of this post.

ADDENDUM (30 March 2016):  A quick update:  Several people have responded that they agree with the identification as a Northern Fur Seal.

And, TMMC has some information about tagging on their website.  They mention the sources of different tag colors:

Green -- Año Nuevo Island
Pink -- Farallon Islands
Red -- San Miguel Island
Orange -- rehabilitation centers

I also learned that a tag on the right flipper indicates a female (vs. on the left for a male).  So this female Northern Fur Seal was released from a rehabilitation center.  Thanks everyone for the useful information!