Posing Pinnipeds

I love pinnipeds. They make me laugh.

We came across hundreds of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) out in open ocean the other day...barking, frolicking, and being generally ridiculous.

California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
A friendly sea lion greeting

There are a lot of sea lion colonies around, but from what I gather, it's rather unusual to see so many individuals together in open water, so it was quite a treat to be among them (though they certainly smelled bad at times!).

Perhaps the most amusing sight was watching them catch some R&R, thermal regulating by sticking their flippers up in the air while dunking the rest of their bodies in the water.

Here's a pair of the posing pinnipeds, which for all practical purposes looked to me like a sculpture you might find at a museum of modern art:

California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), thermal regulation, Baja, Mexico
Two California sea lions making like a modern art sculpture

In this instance, it was a husky male and adorable female. On a thermal-regulating date perhaps?