Steller Sea Lions, the Grizzlies of the Sea (Salish Sea Wild)

Steller sea lions are the world’s largest species of sea lion. Early observers called them sea lions because the males grow large, furry manes, but when we compare these top predators to land animals, we think of them as the grizzlies of the sea. In our debut episode of Salish Sea Wild, the team heads up to Hornby Island on a frigid winter week to dive with hundreds of these magnificent creatures. Written and produced by Bob Friel.
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[@fletcherhahn5428]

Wonderful! These large creatures are remarkably agile under water. And the backgrounds are as spectacular as the sea lions

[@sebastianryder8311]

A tip: watch series at Flixzone. I've been using it for watching loads of movies during the lockdown.

[@IBTOI65]

I had the pleasure of meeting some of these passionate folks on Orcas Island and unfortunately was leaving before this debut. SO happy to get to see it here! I gotta say, they were quite calm as the sea grizzly was chomping on his head 🤣. I can hardly wait to see what's next in the series! Toi

[@seadocsociety]

That's so cool! Hope you've been able to follow along with the series. Lots of cool videos in the ensuing five years!

[@itsxstarz9056]

This deserves 1 million likes atleast prolly one the coolest videos on sea lions I’ve seen

[@seadocsociety]

Thank you!

[@markquadrozzi3384]

That was fantastic! Beautiful

[@chrisshotwell4442]

So jealous! What a cool experience!

[@jonathanstein1783]

I was swimming through kelp near Carpenteria, CA once, and had a female California sea lion surprise me there. She was VERY curious about what I was. She never tried to bite or even mouth me, but just being in close proximity to an animal that size in the water made me nervous. But she did ride a wave into the beach with me. She was so much more graceful than I was!

[@brienmcmullen]

Great footage.

[@dantewordlaw8677]

This is so cool

[@Shawnecee]

Looks great! I can't wait for Episode two!!

[@dvanren1]

Great job! Shared with our FB group Pinnipeds Are People, Too :)

[@TheSmsawyer]

Ahh, this made my day.

[@fishdreamsbluebeach]

Came here upon reading Ben the Sea Lion by Roy Henry Vickers. Thank you for sharing your dive!

[@neravairathethird]

What a joyful video - thanks so much for making it!

[@le87]

So incredibly sad to see the seal with a piece of plastic around its neck. Was anyone able to get that off on a later dive?

[@JustineApostolopoulos]

Wondering the same thing!

[@earthballeric]

Awesomely wild!!

[@glenacord]

Amazing, awesome, thanks!

[@TheLOLmonstah96]

This is wild!

[@kalib2997]

That sea lion looked so cute and funny eating that rock. 😊❤

[@swimmingthesalishsea]

Great video - I always enjoy swimming with these beauties!!

[@aussiedownunder4186]

Wonderful

[@stefanhernold345]

Somewhere on this platform there`s a video showing a Steller sea lion biting in half a large Salmon shark (basically a smaller version of the Great white) after the latter had tried to attack it from behind.

[@josebatista5188]

Sea Lions love your squishy consistency

[@Bokaj01]

Love these and sea leopards. Also, looking at these males it makes you appreciate the size of a bull Walrus or Sea Elephant.

[@ScottVeirs]

Brilliant video. I will revel in thinking forever more of Joe Gaydos as a Stellar's "bubbly chew toy!" Did no adult males ever show up? If not, did they stay hauled out or were they up to something else underwater?

[@chelsiewilson3443]

Came here from a short about predatory stellar sea lions so this video was unsettling lol

[@rcturtle]

nice video

[@hkkhgffh3613]

A group of sea lions in the water is called a swarm!

[@tricialamb3197]

How fascinating! Lately I've started kayaking and twice I've had curious sea lions right up close to my boat. It was a bit scary to tell the truth! They're huge! I hope a mature male doesn't ever get that close. I'd love to see a video of those large males swimming. Are they quite as graceful?

[@Erlique]

Any update on that sea lion caught in plastic?

[@Type2Suffering]

Bro htf you take 4 ferries. I can only imagine 3 from vancouver

[@argentto]

are they bigger than leopard seal?

[@rocket5557]

So if they’re the grizzlies of the sea, what are orcas?

[@eduardozermeno2835]

Fucking t rex on steroids

[@stefanhernold345]

Truly *STELLAR* , these sea lions, aren`t they ? 🙂Btw, other pinnipeds are preyed upon by terrestrial predators, including lions (!), tigers (!) and, yes, bears. If polar bears have been known to kill walruses, large brown bears on either side of the North Pacific should be able to kill a stellar sea lion, or shouldn`t they ?

[@markpatterson2507]

Who was Stellers?Sea Lions and HUGE eagles named after this person or place

[@fireweed6094]

Well done, thankyou! With all the uncertainties associated with climate collapse and loss of species biodiversity, allowing the herring fishery to continue at this point is an act of eco-cide.

[@allstarpterosaur850]

Steller Sea Lions, despite their size, have nothing against a pod of transient orcas! Although there are orcas in the Salish Sea, the orcas there eat almost exclusively chinook salmon. In other areas, transient orcas are a steller sea lion's worst nightmare.

[@zooemperor3954]

All Star Pterosaur actually, they are the Steller sea lion’s only real nightmare. Great whites hunt them too, but not particularly often.

[@RubyCarrots3232]

@@zooemperor3954 Even then, they prefer old, young, or weakened animals to avoid injury to themselves.

[@derrazkhalid]

wonderful ! i dont think i have the balls for this lol

[@Hershey1489]

Hello there, (in a British accent)

[@seadocsociety]

Hello there! (In a PNW scuba diver's accent)

[@dominicstocker5144]

Metric units would be appreciated

[@ThatTallGuy0]

If so dangerous why shaped like friend

[@oh.thatsmint9672]

We got seabears this some B.S

[@outdoorloser4340]

Great video, but you guys are really, really, really humanizing them.

[@PresbianTier]

8:26 a sea lion cannot outsprint a man on land. maybe an elderly man

[@ronfleischhacker8469]

But can they take a Polar bear 🐻‍❄️

[@mechengineer4894]

No, orcas are the grizzlies of the sea. The orcas call these things a delicacy.

[@brentlionakaboldchamp]

Orcas are more like the Lions of the sea, because they are group oriented.

[@camulodunon]

No, orcas are just big dolphins. Apex predator big dolphins, but still big dolphins. Biologically, one can literally call these sea lions aquatic bears.

[@beanz7695]

NO THERE THE DOGGOS OF THE SEA

[@dennismartinovich4639]

I use to fish off of Catalina Island in Southern California for White Sea Bass a great tasting fish and they used to give us deep chargers ( like a M-80) to scatter this pest away they will steal your fish right off your hook, more of an annoyance than cute.

[@someone2506]

Well it's their food first, they can't catch rabbits you know.. Humans are selfish.