Beached Whale

Newport Beach, CA

Casey returned from a run on the beach yesterday morning and said that he had seen a seal lying up on the shore. After asking him many questions about whether or not it was dying, old, dangerous, etc., I decided to check it out for myself.

Casey, Nicole, and I neared the marine mammal and watched as it lie still on the sandy beach. It was obviously "out of sorts," but continued to move and brush sand from its hairy blubber (blubber is quite possibly one of my favorite words ever). We took some photos of it from afar and then grew bolder in getting closer to take some additional pics. That is, Casey and I felt bold enough to go near the seal....Nicole did not. See photos below. I figured it couldn't possibly attack me considering it would have to shift 800 pounds of its blubber.

As we approached the seal, it would bend its head backward to itch its white back. And, for some reason, it didn't want to open its eyes unless there was something nearby worthy of it. A lifeguard approached in his Baywatch-like truck and began to yell at us, "STAY AWAY FROM THE MAMMAL! STAY AWAY FROM THE MAMMAL!" I rolled my eyes and proceeded to pose for a photo near the animal. I wasn't a threat to the animal in any way and kept a healthy distance.

It was an exciting day and we celebrated the fact that we had witnessed something unusual. Later that day, we glanced out at the beach to see yellow "Caution" tape marking off the spot where the seal had been. We quickly returned to the familiar spot and saw the seal lying closer to the water near the roped-off area. A sign near him read, "Do Not Disturb Marine Life." As we took a closer look it was easier to see that the seal wasn't moving.

Another lifeguard pulled up and we asked some of our burning questions. He proceeded to tell us that it was a sea lion not a seal. He said that they had spotted him miles down the shore the day before and figured that he would pass away of old age sometime soon. We also learned that sea lions can stand upright on their back flippers and run faster than a human for a short distance. I found this hard to believe.

I began to ponder, Was I the one who killed the sea lion? Probably not. But I clearly exploited it.

Check out the photo.