It was a sunny and moderately windy day in Newport Beach. Leaning against the fence atop the wooden pier I was enjoying the sparking, silvery, rippled waters of the Pacific. An unusual grunting and groaning noise startled me out of my spell. That is when, Surya showed me the pair of sea lions swimming below the pier, creating the grunts. I had seen a few of them in captivity, in LA and San Diego Zoo. But, getting to see them in the wild, in the Pacific Ocean was altogether a unique experience. The larger of the duo was emitting that funny sound and asking for food. It was sheer fun to watch the critter catching the food scraps thrown at it and craving for more. Peeping the slick head with the big whiskers, it resembled a bald old man. Sharing the tremendous glee we had...........
The first glimpse of the pinniped.......
The pair discussing foraging strategies or may be sharing sweet nothings.........
I am hungry...got some food?...
The oldie face with the big moustache-like whiskers....
Close-up...
Swimming with the long foreflippers like a mermaid....
The spotting certainly made my day.....When nature decides to entertain, it's much more gratifying than human orchestrated amusements...
Since then, have got to see many of them.........like this one....a couple of days before, we had been on a whale-watching trip to the Pacific. The boat was gliding past the pods of dolphins while the red floating buoy grabbed my attention. A passel of sea lions were lying on the pedestal, heaped on each other. Despite the constant ringing of the huge bell,they were in slumber, enjoying the mid-day sun...
and like this.........posing with them....of course from safe distance........
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