Sea Lion for Brunch on the Rincon

My wife and I have been so fortunate to be able to spend most of the summer on the very point at Rincon, about 15 miles east of Santa Barbara. Meaning "corner" in Spanish, Rincon is very much a point and has been favored by surfers for decades.

I have seen much wildlife in and on this corner of the Pacific this summer. It is a rocky point and attracts seals, porpoises, birds of many kinds and a sea lion.

One overcast morning in late July I saw a sea lion on the beach - and it was being very active with something. Slashing this thing all around in the air, and throwing it on the ground, much as an active retriever would play with a tug-toy. S/he was also much the focus of attention by several local gulls, just waiting for flying sushi. Whatever it was didn't have any 'umph' left and was not going to escape.

Upon a closer look at my photos later, apparently the sea lion had caught a 3' leopard shark, eaten the head and was dealing with the rest of the carcass on the beach. This 'playing' with the shark went on for several minutes, until some beachwalkers came past and the sea lion headed out to sea, still grasping the shark carcass in its mouth.

Swimming 50yds+ offshore, the sea lion was STILL playing with that shark, displaying a wildly flopping carcass as it entered deeper water. Can you imagine the 'great luck' the gull in the second to last photo must have felt seeing this large piece of dead shark bouncing on top of the ocean... only to find it was still attached to a sea lion? Ahh, brunch for the sea lion only - the gulls will have to wait.