California Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus
A juvenile sea lion does a back-flip
in the waters off Santa Barbara Island,
a small (1 square mile) island which lies
38 miles off the Southern California coast.
It houses a sea lion rookery, where sea lions
birth and raise their pups.
Young sea lions are fun-loving,
and waste no time coming to greet you
when you get near their playground.
They're also very curious, gently nibbling on
hair, equipment and anything else that looks interesting.
We got a bit nervous once when they suddenly disappeared.
Although they returned a short time later,
we never did see what scared them all away...
