Thanks to Gene Pavola for the photo. Fins protruding from the water are often assumed to be whales – but not in this case. That’s a “sailing” sea lion, a phenomenon we’ve explained over the years, with the help of Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network (see this story, for example). Gene photographed the sea lion at noontime today.
It’s not an effective mating technique. All the sea lions here are males and the “ladies” are in California. Check the website article about sea lion thermoregulating.
It’s actually for thermoregulation. Exposing the flippers like this allows the sea lion to float and rest, while exposing the surface area of its flippers to the sun and air, while keeping the it’s body mostly submerged.Male and female California sea lions are around this time of year. You can determine the sex of a sea lion if you’re able to see their head. The men have a crest (a big bump on their forehead). The females do not. I worked as a marine mammal monitor in the Alki area, and you’d see lots of male and female sea lions doing this through the fall and winter.
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Saw this fella doing the same thing last summer😃
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