I love Harbor Seals...

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jmani

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Messages
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Location
Suisun City
# of dives
100 - 199
So this weekend I went to Lovers Cove in Monterey CA, for my AOW and Nitrox classes. Instead of doint the course over two days, we made it one long day of diving. (did my night dive a few weeks before)

Anyway when we got in the water for the first dive of the day, there was a gang of harbor seals waiting for us. The watched us around the edges of vision and followed us through the dive. Through all the later dives of the day they got closer and closer. By the third dive the seals were interacting with us, pulling on fins, blowing bubbles in our faces, generaly having a good time. One even put his nose in the palm of my hand asking for a scratch. The seals followed us all the way back to shore after each dive with a look on their faces like...hey! where ya goin? we were playing here get back in the water.

All in all a good day of diving.

John
 
Uncle Pug:
I like harbor seals as well, but blowing bubbles is a sign of aggression... or courtship.


It must have been courtship...as he was really, lets say "fond" of my yellow split fins... :sorry19z:
 
I dove at Lover's Cove last Sunday, but didn't see any of the seals while I was under water. (Some were sunning themselves on the rocks on the point and the spar between the two beaches.)
 
In one of my first dives after i was certified (i think it was at McAbee beach) they were all over us, tugging fins, and one even lay on top of me (mating? :07: ). Since then, nada, rarely even an underwater sighting of seals. I wonder if they have a taste for new divers.
 
They certainly don't love me! I've always wanted a seal to come up to me underwater. I've seen them lots of times, but only speeding by above,below or in front of me. I scared one out from under a rock at Lovers Point a couple weeks ago with my light. It wasn't on purpose, I didn't know it was there til it came boiling out! I read recently that when the leopard sharks are breeding at Whalers Cove (Pt Lobos), the seals try to drive them out of the cove by blowing bubbles in their faces and tugging on their tails. Maybe they're trying to get rid of us and not playing at all? Or maybe I'm just jealous!! ( or maybe it's both....)

Carol
 

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