Scuba diving is one of the best ways to get a close view of nature and its beautiful wildlife. Normally when scuba diving, you’d expect to see colorful coral reefs, flamboyant fish, and maybe some starfish. The entire experience is worth it.
But scubaing in the 48-degree Fahrenheit waters of Hornby Island in British Columbia, Canada takes adventure seeking to a whole new level! Divers in the region report getting to witness several friendly sea lions as they migrate as far as 1,500 miles from San Diego.
“The area around Hornby is used as a winter feeding area for Steller and California sea lions. They migrate from both directions — north and south, but mainly south — coming into this area following the Pacific herring that are going to be spawning in the area for the next month,” explained Rob Zielinski, who’s an avid scuba diver.
Zielinski is quite familiar with diving in this region and has been doing so for years. In fact, he and his wife Amanda run the only dive operation found on the island.
“One of the things I love about my job is the world comes to me,” Amanda said in an interview with FOX 5. “I like living in this small place that’s a long way from anywhere, and lots of interesting people come and stay with me.”
And a specific reason Amanda loves her job so much is because of the sweet sea lions she gets to see frequently.
“They’re so curious about us. Usually, marine wildlife is so shy of people, and for some reason, the sea lions think we’re interesting,” Amanda said. “They are so curious and they have no hands, so the only thing that they can check us out with is their mouth.”
Both California and Stellar male sea lions appear in the area during wintertime. As for the females, they stay behind with their pups at their breeding colony until they’ve weaned.
During the season, you can enjoy dozens of sea lions swimming around you in awe in Hornby. However, some diving experts warn not to touch them. Although, the curious fellas might touch you first!
“I mean 20-30 sea lions in the water — you don’t have to do a whole lot (to interact). You just descend to the bottom and they come and play with you,” said the President of Aqua-Lung Canada, Jamie Hay. “It feels like 20 golden retrievers coming up and licking your face and biting your arm. And you can get as interactive with them as you want, or you can stay back and watch. It’s an amazing experience.”
At first, some divers may be nervous to engage in the experience, but in the end, Hay reports that participants are glad they did it.
“It’s cold; it’s very gear-intensive,” Hay said. “It can be intimidating for beginner divers and non-divers, but once you get past that part of it, it’s a fantastic experience.”
If you’re not able to scuba dive in Hornby during sea lion migration season, there’s another way to get the immersive experience: watch the video below!
