{"id":418794,"date":"2026-01-17T09:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/418794\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T09:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:27:12","slug":"symphony-of-the-sea-big-barking-bellowing-sea-lions-back-in-howe-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/418794\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Symphony of the sea\u2019: Big, barking, bellowing sea lions back in Howe Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sea lions are back for their annual visit to B.C.’s Howe Sound and have taken over two private docks, sending a cacophony of barking and bellowing through West Vancouver. <\/p>\n

West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager admits people have complained to him about the ruckus. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certainly people that call once in a while, I always encourage them to maybe put in an earplug and enjoy the symphony of the sea,\u201d Sager said. <\/p>\n

Last year, the sea lions took over a dock near Garrow Bay Park. The dock has been blocked off with a wooden fence surrounding it, preventing the animals from hanging out in the area. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s actually a wonderful reflection of how the marine life in the Howe Sound has come back,\u201d Sager said. <\/p>\n

\"AAlex Cole is pictured in Howe Sound on Jan. 14. He created a social media group to post sightings of marine wildlife in the region just north of Vancouver. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Alex Cole lives near the docks and heard the sea lions’ arrival in December. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re big, loud, stinky beasts, but they’re amazingly agile and they’re vocal, and they have big personalities,\u201d Cole said. <\/p>\n

Cole has created a Facebook group<\/a> so people can share wildlife sightings in Howe Sound. <\/p>\n

\"ACalifornia and Steller sea lions are pictured on a private dock near West Vancouver in Howe Sound. The city’s mayor admits he’s gotten complaints over the noise, but he says that residents should try and enjoy the ‘symphony of the sea.’ (Ben Nelms\/CBC)Steller versus California <\/p>\n

Two species of sea lions showing up, both with distinct personalities and sounds, and their presence is a sign of a healthy ecosystem, according to experts. <\/p>\n

Andrew Trites, director of the University of British Columbia\u2019s Marine Mammal Research Unit, said Steller sea lions, which are native to B.C., are the largest of the six species of sea lions. <\/p>\n

\"AA Steller sea lion, seen here, is native to B.C. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Stellers are very sensitive, and you wouldn’t think that the world’s biggest sea lion should be afraid of anything, and yet, at times, they seem to be afraid of their own shadows,\u201d Trites said.<\/p>\n

Steller sea lions can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou’ll hear their roars, but it’s just a much more subtle, I think, a more beautiful sound,\u201d Trites said. <\/p>\n

\"TwoCalifornia sea lions’ arrival was likened to that of a biker gang convention by UBC professor Andrew Trites. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

California sea lions also frequent B.C. waters this time of year. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they arrive, it’s almost like a biker gang convention. They just arrive out of nowhere, they cause havoc, they\u2019re barking and belching,\u201d Trites said. <\/p>\n

\"ACalifornia sea lions are often louder than Steller sea lions, according to UBC professor Andrew Trites. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The California sea lion is the louder species, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo if [people are] annoyed, it’s because of those California sea lions, it’s the Americans here barking, barking, barking,\u201d Trites said. \u201cWe don’t know why they do it. They can’t help themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoA large amount of anchovies in Howe Sound is proving to be a boon for seals, like those seen here, in addition to sea lions. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Large numbers of anchovies in recent years have been a game changer for Howe Sound around Squamish and Bowen Island, he said, bringing in sea lions, seals and humpback whales.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a species that we ever thought of as being a common species,\u201d Trites said. \u201cIt seems everyone likes to eat fatty fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA harbour seal is pictured in Howe Sound, a marine region just north of Vancouver. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)Where do they go? <\/p>\n

Trites said the California sea lions will typically be in B.C. waters from November to March, sometimes longer, and then head back to California where females are waiting. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re a sea lion, the bigger you are, the more attractive you are to the females,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"AThe numbers of Steller sea lions is increasing in B.C., according to UBC professor Andrew Trites. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Steller sea lions will travel to breeding areas in B.C., such as Triangle Island or the Scott Islands. Their population is believed to be roughly 43,000 and they are considered a species of special concern in Canada. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re going to become more and more regular because their numbers are increasing,\u201d said Trites. <\/p>\n

\"AThe sea lions have taken over docks in West Vancouver. (Ben Nelms\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Back in the 1980s, Trites said, Howe Sound was a wildlife desert and devoid of life. <\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a complete reversal,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is something to rejoice in.\u201d<\/p>\n

PHOTOS | Marine wildlife makes its presence felt in Howe Sound:<\/p>\n

He hopes people will celebrate their return and watch them from a distance, not to disturb them. <\/p>\n

“It’s up to us to figure out how to continue to do it right so we can coexist with them,\u201d Trites said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sea lions are back for their annual visit to B.C.’s Howe Sound and have taken over two private…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-418794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}