The two things you hear about the Galapagos before going are: The animals are everywhere, and they are unafraid! Sure enough, both are true. We never really had to walk far, hide behind bushes for hours, or be silent. We actually had to walk over them sometimes. They were all in plain sight, and they were either completely oblivious and ignored us, or they were curious and approached us.
No animals were more ubiquitous and more curious than the sea lions. They were present on every beach—rocky, sandy, or otherwise—and sea lions of all ages greeted us every time we came to shore. Bigger adult males would be a bit off on their own, but the females would be nursing not only new pups but also juveniles. When not hunting in the ocean or frolicking in the surf, they’d be piled up seemingly everywhere—sleeping. Often, we’d have to walk off the path to get around them, as there was never any question about who was going to accommodate whom. We always gave the big males a wide berth—grouchy guys who could do some damage if they felt like it. Their barking could be heard from afar!
Sea lions have the ability to fall asleep almost anywhere. And, they seem to sleep most of the time—kinda like old people. They’d be lounging on or under the docks, on concrete steps, on the sharp and uneven lava—wherever there was enough space to stretch out and snooze. We’d even spot them on the side of the trails, fast asleep in the bushes, and occasionally, even on top of bushes. The little pups would fall asleep as they were “walking” along. More than once, we’d see a little one moving in some direction with purpose and suddenly just lie down and take a rest for a few minutes.
The pups would frolic in the surf and tumble and roll around in groups of a half dozen or more. When we’d land or come back from a hike, they’d rush up to us in a sea lion “pup ball”, eager for any distraction or attention. The rule on the Galapagos is that you must keep ten feet away from the animals at all times. Yet, it is okay if one approaches you as long as you do not touch it. It was pretty damn hard not reach out and cuddle a pup or two when they approached us. It seemed that they would just as soon climb into our laps as sniff our shoes or nuzzle our legs with their cold, wet noses.
Snorkeling with the older sea lions was a blast. Like bullets, they’d shoot through the water, moving in all directions around us, spinning and somersaulting all the while keeping an eye on us. Once in awhile Eduardo could engage them by acting goofy or blowing bubbles underwater. That always seemed to pique their curiosity, and they would come closer to tumble with him for a few minutes before darting off again in another direction.
A curious behavior is that when in the water, sea lions will turn on their sides and lift one flipper out of the water to warm it. Scanning the coastline, you’d almost always see a couple of solitary flippers bobbing in the surf.
A group of sea lions is called by different names depending on where they are. On land, they form a colony; during breeding, a rookery; and females within a male’s territory are referred to as a harem. My favorite, though, is a group in the water called a raft. Now that is a funny image—harnessing up a group of sea lions together to go island hopping while sipping cocktails. I don’t think so.
I continued to wrongly refer to sea lions as seals throughout the trip. There are significant differences between seals and sea lions. Seals have no ear flaps, and their flippers are fur-covered with long claws. Sea lions have small ear flaps, short claws, and skin on their flippers. The big difference, though, is that sea lions can rotate their back flippers, allowing them to “walk” on land. In an Exorcist-like move, they can also lay their heads backwards to completely rest their heads on their backs like some kind of possessed being. Seals, on the other hand, can’t rotate anything and have to scoot along on their bellies to move. Who came up with that idea? Watching seals move on land makes you want to grab your belly in sympathy pains.
True seals, as they are called, are believed to have evolved from a terrestrial weasel-like animal, whereas sea lions are thought to have evolved from terrestrial bear-like animals. Who knew? Not me…
