Carnivores in Richmond

Carnivores are interesting, and it's not just because I am one.  They need to use a combination of physical strength, mental acuity, speed, and all round evolutionary ingenuity to overcome another animal, just to survive.  Commonly, they risk their own safety just to eat, and have to overcome some amount of fear that the victim could fight back, causing an injury that could eventually lead to death by not being able to hunt.

Humans are understandably cautious around other carnivores.  They threaten our own safety, or the safety of our pets and livestock. In cities such as Vancouver, large carnivores get pushed out to the boundaries where forest meets subdivision. In Richmond, coyotes might come to mind as one of our largest carnivores, hanging out on the ocean side of the dyke in the tidal marsh.  What if I told you that coyotes weren't the largest?  "Humans, of course," you'd grin.  "No, even bigger."  "In present day?" "Yes, in present day".

Until a whale or dolphin swims into Richmond (which I'm sure has happened, just not in recent memory), I submit to you, the sea lion.

This one in Steveston was a California sea lion, I suspect, as they have longer snouts than the larger stellar sea lions. The males tip the scales at almost 800 pounds (the steller sea lions are gargantuan, at over 2000 pounds), making them much larger than a typical 250 pound black bear on the North Shore. Yet despite this size and sharp teeth, we somehow disassociate them from being predators.  Lacking feet, we think of them as awkward on land.  With most of their sleek body hidden underwater, we don't realize how large these animals actually are, and their capability to inflict harm. Years of seeing them perform tricks alongside humans have acclimatized us into thinking that they want nothing more than to hear applause for their comedic timing. And if I said the word "seal", the cartoon image in your head would surely include a multicoloured beach ball.  We think of them as tame, resulting in unfortunate encounters like this, which happened not far from where I took the above photo.

To be fair, attacks on humans on land are rare.  But given their size and speed, this largest carnivore that frequents our city boundaries demands a healthy respect.

Fanny Bay - not just known for their oysters

One of my sources for information about nature on the island is Island Nature .  It is because of that site that I first heard of the herring spawn in Comox, driving my desire to visit the beaches there.  The blog also informed me of the sea lions stationed at a floating wooden structure at Fanny Bay (location of the famed Fanny Bay oyster farms), which was on our way up to Comox.

I've seen sea lions in the wild, but never this close, and never this many.  They are here for the herring.  From the parking lot we could already hear their loud barks.

"I hear barking, but they don't look like dogs"

Rafts of lions

From our pier, we were probably only 10 metres away from the boisterous pinnipeds.  We didn't think we could get any closer.  But we did.  A dive boat had just dropped off its divers, and the driver of the boat asked if we'd like a short boat ride to the raft of sea lions. Who would say 'no'?

Contentment

barking contest

The type who can sleep despite the ruckus

I think we all know who the bully is here

Sea lions are one of the creatures who are quite comfortable with humans, making them easily viewable.  With full bellies, and about four times heavier than any of us, they did not seem to care as we circled them in our boat.  They shouted barks in our general direction, but were generally more concerned with preserving their prime resting spots, making for a wonderful viewing opportunity.