Diving Steller Sea Lions

EF 200-400mm @ 200mm; f/9 @ 1/250 sec, ISO 800

Juvenile Stellar Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus), reacting to the adults alarm call, begin to dive into the bay to evade the perceived danger voiced by the adults. Their rookery is where they seek safety from aquatic predators.The Sea Lions perceived me and the menacing huge eye (my camera lens) as a danger and I was not “in the water” from their point of view. Their escape, therefore, was to enter the water.The eyes of the seals have a nictitating membrane which covers their eyes when they enter the sea. The eyes of the two diving seals nearest the water's surface are distinctly covered by these membranes and appear somewhat opaque as compared to the other members of the colony. Eventually only adults would remain on the rocks.