Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina)
Harbor seals
The curious and gregarious Harbor seals have established a colony in our La Jolla dive area. These little guys are common along the California and Baja Coast lines. Reaching on about 6 feet in length and under 400 lbs in weight they are much smaller than their cousins the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus).
Diving in La Jolla California
Our diving in La Jolla California often includes encounters with these curious characters. In fact we had one individual accompany us on almost every dive to the outer reef rock pile at the La Jolla Cove Ecological Reserve. He would even mouth our fins or gauge packages on some dives. He was confused about his identity we think as he stayed with us for entire dives sometimes. He would come in stay awhile leave then come back to us after a few minutes. We named him “Barney’
Here is a link to a Face Book video of him interacting with us: https://www.facebook.com/scubasandiegoinc/videos/1749051805153278/
Come to La Jolla California and dive with us and you may meet Barney personally if he isn’t chasing Calico Bass or biting Seven Gill Sharks in the tale.
