Los Islotes and Ensenada Grande, Baja California Sur
Los Islotes is a famous Sea of Cortez destination because there is a resident colony of maybe between 400 to 600 California sea lions. The volcanic-tuff-made and highly eroded islet is the perfect spot for them since it is a very isolated rockery without any land predator. Moreover, the waters around are so rich that they sustain not only the sea lions (with big schools of fish), but also a large variety of other big marine creatures, like the whale sharks. And, as another example, this morning we observed an elephant seal, the huge pinniped that usually is found sunbathing on the islands well offshore the Pacific side of the peninsula, that found the Gulf a very attractive place to spend the summer.
During our Zodiac cruises around Los Islotes we observed a variety of sea lion behavior: from the tender nursing of mothers toward the pups, to the impressive agonistic attitudes of males against each other, and the funny acrobatics of the yearlings, or the pretended badness of the close-to-sexual-maturity males. As the peak of the breeding season is close, many females were present on the rocks; some of them already giving birth, while others just patiently waiting for the Great Moment. And the big bulls, like many males in the animal kingdom, were just waiting for the appropriation of a big piece of land with females on it. Also, the arguing for space atop the biggest and more comfortable boulders was observed (photo).
The whole afternoon was spent at Ensenada Grande, a big and well protected cove located at the western side of the Espiritu Santo-Partida Sur island complex, were we swam, kayaked and hiked. Antelope ground squirrels, lizards, ospreys and other wonders were observed and crowned the end our fantastic voyage along the Sea of Cortez and its islands.
Los Islotes is a famous Sea of Cortez destination because there is a resident colony of maybe between 400 to 600 California sea lions. The volcanic-tuff-made and highly eroded islet is the perfect spot for them since it is a very isolated rockery without any land predator. Moreover, the waters around are so rich that they sustain not only the sea lions (with big schools of fish), but also a large variety of other big marine creatures, like the whale sharks. And, as another example, this morning we observed an elephant seal, the huge pinniped that usually is found sunbathing on the islands well offshore the Pacific side of the peninsula, that found the Gulf a very attractive place to spend the summer.
During our Zodiac cruises around Los Islotes we observed a variety of sea lion behavior: from the tender nursing of mothers toward the pups, to the impressive agonistic attitudes of males against each other, and the funny acrobatics of the yearlings, or the pretended badness of the close-to-sexual-maturity males. As the peak of the breeding season is close, many females were present on the rocks; some of them already giving birth, while others just patiently waiting for the Great Moment. And the big bulls, like many males in the animal kingdom, were just waiting for the appropriation of a big piece of land with females on it. Also, the arguing for space atop the biggest and more comfortable boulders was observed (photo).
The whole afternoon was spent at Ensenada Grande, a big and well protected cove located at the western side of the Espiritu Santo-Partida Sur island complex, were we swam, kayaked and hiked. Antelope ground squirrels, lizards, ospreys and other wonders were observed and crowned the end our fantastic voyage along the Sea of Cortez and its islands.
