jamiec
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Swimming with the Sea Lions of Los Islotes- La Paz
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/travel/sea-lions-los-islo...
Great photography here.
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JZ
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Shots from Los Islotes.
https://youtu.be/4VNTIhRa6q0?t=350
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4x4abc
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much more exciting than swimming with the whale sharks
Harald Pietschmann
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mtgoat666
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watch out, they do occasionally bite
Woke!
Hands off!
“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Pronoun: the royal we
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BajaNomad
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Try to not alarm the bulls, who will get you if you don't heed their warning with a first pass-by.... often with their teeth showing.
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
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JZ
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I've been to sea lion spots dozens of times all over the SoC. But never had the ballz to swim with them.
How dangerous is it when proper care is taken?
[Edited on 6-29-2020 by JZ]
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BajaParrothead
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Quote: Originally posted by BajaNomad  |
Try to not alarm the bulls, who will get you if you don't heed their warning with a first pass-by.... often with their teeth showing.
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On a sailing trip past Islotes, we were snorkeling around the island when my significant other failed to recognize the bulls warnings and he jammed
her in the ribs with his muzzle. LESSON LEARNED!
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ | I've been to sea lion spots dozens of times all over the SoC. But never had the ballz to swim with them.
How dangerous is it when proper care is taken?
[Edited on 6-29-2020 by JZ] |
when i lived on the beach my dogs would occasionally chase the local sea lions, running along the shore barking, sometimes swimming after the sea
lions. occasionally the sea lions nipped them from below when dogs were swimming, to show who was in charge. just nips, nothing too deep.
i have avoided swimming at the rookeries, it is their territory, you can see in their behavior that close human presence makes 'em nervous, and they
got big teeth/mouths and are more agile/faster swimmers...
Woke!
Hands off!
“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Pronoun: the royal we
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BajaNomad
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I'm uncertain if behavior is different in different places.
At Los Islotes, the advice I was given over 25 years ago still appears to be valuable advice for an excellent experience:
- Don't get up on the rocks where the colony is sunning themselves.
- If a bull comes by you in the water and bares his teeth, heed the warning and swim away.
I snorkeled with the sea lions at Los Islotes perhaps on six or more different occasions in various years... always heeding that advice. Had a couple
of bulls approach me baring teeth (very intimidating), but never a problem other than being warned off by the bulls.
I found if I swam a little further away, many of the sea lions would still follow me around... and it was more off the "radar" of the bull(s).
fyi
[Edited on 6-30-2020 by BajaNomad]
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
https://www.regionalinternet.com
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting - since 1999 |
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AKgringo
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Twenty years ago, we went out with a German guide in Mulege to snorkel around some sea lions. I wouldn't call the rock a rookery, in fact I don't
know if any bulls were around.
It was fun, and the few critters we met seemed friendly enough, but I would have appreciated a warning about bulls baring teeth!
I had encountered seals on more than a few occasions in the past while diving for abalone, but not sea lions!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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4x4abc
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I am well aware of that - and they have only one aim. Your balls
Harald Pietschmann
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4x4abc
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ | I've been to sea lion spots dozens of times all over the SoC. But never had the ballz to swim with them.
How dangerous is it when proper care is taken?
[Edited on 6-29-2020 by JZ] |
It can only be done at sites where the animals had exposure to tourists for many years. They have learned that we are not a threat. I would not be in
the water anywhere else. They are lightning fast and dangerous.
Even with established sites there is a strict security protocol.
As soon as only one single male slips into the water - all tourists are out ASAP
Harald Pietschmann
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HeyMulegeScott
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The pups can bite you too. I got a nip on my stomach and a guy in our group was bit in the shoulder. Enough to draw blood through a wetsuit. Our guide
said the older they get the more they like to play rough.
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BajaBlanca
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AKgringo - was Tomas your German tour guide?
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AKgringo
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I don't remember, it was twenty years ago. He had a dive shop in town, who ever he was.
He did not go in the water with us, and thought I was nuts for rejecting the heavy wetsuit he provided, but even in January the water was much warmer
than I was accustomed to.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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