I ran into a Sea Lion at the river 50 miles upstream from the ocean.

[Travis Alexander]

I don't know what's cuter, you or the baby sea lion sir lol.
Beautiful creature though.

How much you pay for that trip?

I don't know what's cuter, you or the baby sea lion sir lol.
Beautiful creature though.

How much you pay for that trip?

Thank you. I was blessed and didn’t have to pay much at all for a Bezos-esque experience. Just the flight for myself and my son to Quito, Ecuador plus hotel for two nights while we checked out the city etc. Then flew 1.5 hours to the Galapagos where there was a friends yacht that had a room for us, all I had to do was get us there and the rest was paid for. We visited all of the islands over the 10 day yacht voyage and had a live on guide plus 16 person staff. It was the experience of a lifetime. My son and I had a blast. I think it probably cost me 4K total.
Also as for the Galapagos I’d suggest anyone to go at some point in your life. There are species only found there that you will never see anywhere else. Also the water is crystal clear and the beaches have zero litter…and I mean literally ZERO. I spent ten days there and never saw a plastic bottle or cigarette butt.

 

[boingyman]

I use to live in Sacramento in North Natomas. Our first house was next to one of the canals. I would practice sunset landscape photography using the canal area pretty often and have seen sea otters cruise on by in there a few times. I use to take photos of Tower Bridge often too and have seen them in the Sacramento River. Almost any canal or manmade waterway that leads to the sea in California can have these type of animals make a visit even when there 50+ miles away.

Anyway you got me to look back at some old photos I took of the canal 11+ years ago. Here's one of them.

 

[StonedLemur]

Thank you. I was blessed and didn’t have to pay much at all for a Bezos-esque experience. Just the flight for myself and my son to Quito, Ecuador plus hotel for two nights while we checked out the city etc. Then flew 1.5 hours to the Galapagos where there was a friends yacht that had a room for us, all I had to do was get us there and the rest was paid for. We visited all of the islands over the 10 day yacht voyage and had a live on guide plus 16 person staff. It was the experience of a lifetime. My son and I had a blast. I think it probably cost me 4K total.
Also as for the Galapagos I’d suggest anyone to go at some point in your life. There are species only found there that you will never see anywhere else. Also the water is crystal clear and the beaches have zero litter…and I mean literally ZERO. I spent ten days there and never saw a plastic bottle or cigarette butt.
View attachment 1035479

Kid looks like he enjoyed his experience sir, and it sounds like you enjoyed it too.
You ever want to go back?

 

[suprah]

I visited Vancouver Island last year, I probably saw a dozen of them or so at different spots. One got really close but before I could get a good pic somebodies dog scared it off.

Arrow tv show was filmed there I think such a beautiful place.

 

[Lycandroid]

Arrow tv show was filmed there I think such a beautiful place.

There has been many movies and TV shows filmed there the first major one that comes to mind is the 13th warrior

 

[suprah]

There has been many movies and TV shows filmed there the first major one that comes to mind is the 13th warrior

Dayum didnt know that. I knew Arrow and some of the other DC shows where. 13th warrior is alpha as fuck and one of the best movies ever made. I read the book eaters of the dead too.

 

[Gigacardio]

I couldn't believe my eyes as I have never seen or heard of this phenomenon.
Was hitting up some trails with my doggo along the American River this afternoon. We stopped at a regular spot where she likes to swim, fetch sticks from the water, and dig at river rocks.
We were enjoying the weather and relaxing when I saw something big and alien in the water.
I kinda freaked out because it didn't make sense. My dog was just swimming very near to where I was seeing this creature.
It disappeared for at least 5 minutes and I was transfixed on the water literally not knowing what the hell was going on.
It surfaced again and I saw it in all it's glory. It was a freaking Sea Lion!
(shitty photos included)
View attachment 1035276View attachment 1035278
View attachment 1035279

We got to watch if for about 20 minutes because it was loitering right in front of us. I'm assuming it was fishing that spot.
It kept going under for minutes at a time and coming up in random spots.
The last glimpse of it I saw it submerged for a couple minutes and surfaced hundreds of feet up river.
As luck would have it I crossed paths with a park ranger on my way out of the parkway. I told him what I saw and asked if he had ever heard about Sea Lions in the river.
Turns out it's a thing. He has seen it before on the Sacramento River (which the American River feeds into) he knew coworkers who had seen them in the American River but he had never heard of one that far up the American River before. Told me I was lucky to see it.
For reference only a few miles upstream the creature would run into a big ol dam.

I know Sea Lions aren't the most exotic animal out there but this experience was exhilarating. I had no idea what I was looking at in the first few moments and then when I figured out what was going on I couldn't explain it.
I have been recreating along the banks of that river since the mid 80s and I have never seen or heard of a Sea Lion being spotted in those waters.
It's kind of a geeky story but it made for a great afternoon adventure for me and my dog.

A map showing where the Sea Lion came from and where I spotted it.
(San Francisco Bay lower left. Animal swam up the Sacramento River and made a right and I saw it between Sacramento and Folsom Lake on the map.
View attachment 1035281

Here is a newspaper article regarding the subject I dug up while I was searching the topic on the internet

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article261250827.html

At least the sharks and the forces can't really get them there.

 

[Your Salad]

I visited Vancouver Island last year, I probably saw a dozen of them or so at different spots. One got really close but before I could get a good pic somebodies dog scared it off.

Did you go to Nanaimo?
I rember going there on a road trip in the early 00s. It was so pretty and laid back.
We camped there for a few days and loved it!

 

[Your Salad]

At least the sharks and the forces can't really get them there.

Yeah, it seems like a total win win for them. I guess they they can't live in fresh water for ever for reasons.
From what I gather they all seem to breed in Socal and from there they just work the coast of California.

 

[emefer]

Did he ask you for a dollar or two for bud fare back to the ocean?

 

[Lycandroid]

Did you go to Nanaimo?
I rember going there on a road trip in the early 00s. It was so pretty and laid back.
We camped there for a few days and loved it!

Yes sir rented a car right off the ferry to Nanaimo from Vancouver. Seems like most of the campers I saw there are the ones high on drugs shooting up in the street lol I think most of them come from the mainland the homeless population is out of control

 

[Your Salad]

Yes sir rented a car right off the ferry to Nanaimo from Vancouver. Seems like most of the campers I saw there are the ones high on drugs shooting up in the street lol I think most of them come from the mainland the homeless population is out of control

Too bad.
That's not how I remember it.
It was a beautiful and chill spot with nice people and very relaxed.
Change isn't always for the best.

 

[sverre054]

Yeah, they are seemingly very clever.
The Salmon and Steelhead spawn here concludes in early December and the Steelhead spawn ends in February.
Maybe he was a little late to the party?

Usually the big summer/fall Salmon runs (King, Coho, Pink, Chum), and usually Winter steelhead, and then a smaller King Salmon run in late winter/early spring. Also late winter a lot of west coast river have a Smelt run, that last a few weeks.

Sea Lion populations have exploded in the past 40 years. The introduction of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, save the species, but now has caused some serious damage. They need to bring back some population control for Seals and sea lions, allow Natives to hunt them and sell the byproducts, and let the States remove problem animals. There was a famous Sea Lion in Seattle, who lived at the Ballard Locks fish ladder. It was eating Hundreds of Endangered Salmon a day. They decided to trap him. They caught him and put him on a Plane, and released him in Southern California. He was back in Seattle in under 10 days. They are smart.

 

[Your Salad]

Usually the big summer/fall Salmon runs (King, Coho, Pink, Chum), and usually Winter steelhead, and then a smaller King Salmon run in late winter/early spring. Also late winter a lot of west coast river have a Smelt run, that last a few weeks.

Sea Lion populations have exploded in the past 40 years. The introduction of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, save the species, but now has caused some serious damage. They need to bring back some population control for Seals and sea lions, allow Natives to hunt them and sell the byproducts, and let the States remove problem animals. There was a famous Sea Lion in Seattle, who lived at the Ballard Locks fish ladder. It was eating Hundreds of Endangered Salmon a day. They decided to trap him. They caught him and put him on a Plane, and released him in Southern California. He was back in Seattle in under 10 days. They are smart.

Thats amazing.
It seems Sea Lions have really taken advantage of the MMPA and ran with it for sure.

 

[Streeter]

Cool pics . Best I got is 20 years ago I ran into 2 cougars in 1 day. 1 a cougar while jogging it ran off when I hit an air horn device I got when I jogged. Then I got hit in by several at the bar..

 

[TeTe]

View attachment 1035343

This little one is beautiful I been watching this video for years

Guess that Sea Lion had no aversion to overpaying for mediocre food lol.

 

[Gigacardio]

I have seen sea lions or seals or whatever a few times in California. I saw one that had taken over a boat in a lagoon and was lounging outlooking like a baller.

Also, I agree with Louis CK that seals and sea lions should not be different things.
All of the following should just be seals from now on:

Seals
Sea Lions
Sea Otters
Narwhals
& maybe Walrusses

sea lions and even walruses are indeed a type of seal.
as for you thinking that narwhals and sea otters should count as seals too....wow....just wow.

 

[terrapin]

I couldn't believe my eyes as I have never seen or heard of this phenomenon.
Was hitting up some trails with my doggo along the American River this afternoon. We stopped at a regular spot where she likes to swim, fetch sticks from the water, and dig at river rocks.
We were enjoying the weather and relaxing when I saw something big and alien in the water.
I kinda freaked out because it didn't make sense. My dog was just swimming very near to where I was seeing this creature.
It disappeared for at least 5 minutes and I was transfixed on the water literally not knowing what the hell was going on.
It surfaced again and I saw it in all it's glory. It was a freaking Sea Lion!
(shitty photos included)
View attachment 1035276View attachment 1035278
View attachment 1035279

We got to watch if for about 20 minutes because it was loitering right in front of us. I'm assuming it was fishing that spot.
It kept going under for minutes at a time and coming up in random spots.
The last glimpse of it I saw it submerged for a couple minutes and surfaced hundreds of feet up river.
As luck would have it I crossed paths with a park ranger on my way out of the parkway. I told him what I saw and asked if he had ever heard about Sea Lions in the river.
Turns out it's a thing. He has seen it before on the Sacramento River (which the American River feeds into) he knew coworkers who had seen them in the American River but he had never heard of one that far up the American River before. Told me I was lucky to see it.
For reference only a few miles upstream the creature would run into a big ol dam.

I know Sea Lions aren't the most exotic animal out there but this experience was exhilarating. I had no idea what I was looking at in the first few moments and then when I figured out what was going on I couldn't explain it.
I have been recreating along the banks of that river since the mid 80s and I have never seen or heard of a Sea Lion being spotted in those waters.
It's kind of a geeky story but it made for a great afternoon adventure for me and my dog.

A map showing where the Sea Lion came from and where I spotted it.
(San Francisco Bay lower left. Animal swam up the Sacramento River and made a right and I saw it between Sacramento and Folsom Lake on the map.
View attachment 1035281

Here is a newspaper article regarding the subject I dug up while I was searching the topic on the internet

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article261250827.html

That's pretty incredible! And what a lucky thing to see and so wonderful really.

I worry about that sea lion finding enough to eat in a river that small though because they eat a lot.

 

[Travis Alexander]

Kid looks like he enjoyed his experience sir, and it sounds like you enjoyed it too.
You ever want to go back?

100% it is an incredible experience. It isn’t the easiest place to access so it probably won’t be for a while but I loved every second of the first trip there… that bar was set pretty high for me though the first time so it would be hard to replicate.

 

[Fluffernutter]

How far from a hydropower dam were you?

I have heard of sea lions traveling quite far up river to find dams. It's easier for them to find fish there.