Starting a new thread to avoid hijacking Single-handed safety considerations, I posted this a part of a commentary on why west-coasters worry about swim steps.
And then Brian Godfrey posted this…
… claiming that Oregon’s Stellar Sea Lions were bigger.
In the spirit of Southern California local pride, here’s two more pictures of sea lions on my dock:
You want big honkin’ sea lions, we got big honkin’ sea lions.
– Bob
Well at least I had the sense to take my photo from 60’ away and three stories up. They are lions, after all.
Here in CA we have a neighborhood Mountain Lion, though he’s only been seen on security cameras. Hunts in our neighbors yard occasionally, or so he says. I know our deer population has dwindled since the birthing season last spring. I like the deer - they hide out in our natural arroyo and come out at night to eat the neighbor’s roses and other irrigated landscaping. But I hope the lion doesn’t run out of them because we’re probably next on his menu, being large and fat and slow. I certainly did feel safer in Sea Lion territory because I don’t bear any resemblance to a salmon.
(I looked it up: Actually, there are California Sea Lions in Oregon, but also the Steller’s Sea Lions, which are around twice the size. But I don’t know which one is in my photo. I just know he was huge. And my family used to raise steers, so I have a fairly good idea what 1500 pounds looks likes: a little bigger than a butchering size steer.)
Here on idyllic Vancouver Island …. Fishermans Wharf in Cowichan Bay (until recently Sandpiper’s home) hosts a couple of hundred stellar and California sea lions for about six weeks every fall. It draws LOTS OF TOURISTS.
…and yes we have one of the highest concentrations of cougars (aka mountain lions) in North America too.
Lucky us!
