By and large seals are pretty harmless but be careful of a couple of points:
1) Is it mating season? If yes be very careful as seals are very on edge and can be aggressive.
2) Are there babies around again aggressive.
3) Sometimes old males who are territorial can be aggressive.

I was out in Mandurah about a month ago and a male seal was harassing my father in law (who was prone surfing at the time). Bared its teeth and charged a couple of time one time got so close he had to use his surfboard to shield himself.

Agree with all of the above from Zimbo and Simmondo, from years sucba diving with seals I have found they have a curious liking for red and also silver.

In diving this usually is a band around a second stage reg or on a snorkel, mask or fin.

They have a dendancy to grab the article and try to swim off with it.

I think your more likely for it to try to playfully grab a leggy trailing in the water than anything else.

But in breeding season bets are off I would stay clear like the other guys say.

Phill.

All that has been said is true, any wild animal should be treated with respect and a certain amount of caution. I have been chased by aggresive nut eating sqirrells in Enland, harrassed by monkeys in Indo and clawed by kangaroos at pebbley beach. So yeh be weary. especially if its a rogue male

Waterhorse said...

They have nice smiles, and sharks eat them

Like your style.
Cheers guys, this is all good advice. This mother is big and if it's the same one each time, has been around at least all Winter. I'll keep my eyes on the horizon.

I had a run in with a Sea lion a few weeks ago on Penguin Island, some stinkboaters disturbed it on the beach I was paddling along it chased them then it ran into the water, it then made straight for me when it saw me and swam along just off the back corner of my board looking at me, unsure of it's intentions i went to the beach where it then sat in the shallows blocking my passage back into the water, after a 5 minute stand off i picked up my board and started walking along the beach away from where it had been disturbed from, it followed me for about 100 meters down the beach before losing interest and going back to where the stinkboaters were at which time I jumped back onboard and paddled away from the island.
It did bark at the stinkboaters when they disturbed it and chased them for a little on the beach, but just watched me and did not act overly threatening.
I have not been able to work out if this is normal for a sea lion. I thought it was a large seal until I did some research and found out it was a sea lion colony on the next island up from where i was not a seal colony as the island is named

JasonProsser said...

Waterhorse said...

They have nice smiles, and sharks eat them

Like your style.
Cheers guys, this is all good advice. This mother is big and if it's the same one each time, has been around at least all Winter. I'll keep my eyes on the horizon.

i work at port botany driving the cranes we have a resident seal almost on a daily basis feeding and cruising alongside the ships