www.goodnewsnetwork.org
Thrilled Swimmers are Visited By Playful Penguins and Sea Lions at the Equator – WATCH
Galapagos penguins and sea lions came to play, thrilling a pair of scuba divers swimming near the Galapagos Islands.
Social & Lifestyle
When most people think of penguins, they usually think of icy Antarctica, yet only 7 of the 17 known penguin species live there. This small Galapagos penguin actually lives and thrives near the hot equator—and these swimmers were delighted when they came to play.
With their scuba fins, the humans were diving in the waters off Fernandina, where the flightless birds find an abundance of food, due to the convergence of powerful ocean currents—including the cold Humboldt waters bringing yummy anchovies, sardines, and mullet.
The penguins are amazingly agile in water, able to reach speeds of 20mph (35km/h) using their powerful flippers.
As the pair of divers were snorkeling with the curious penguins in the blue waters near the rocky shores of the Galapagos Island, playful sea lions swept in as well, and all was captured on video.
The sea lions rolled and cavorted, inviting the clumsy humans to play and follow them as they dashed back and forth and all around them.
Truly the clowns of the ocean, they seemingly were eager to have fun with anyone who enters their domain.
One sea lion even tried to catch one of the penguins in what seemed to be a game, but the penguin was not amused. Wisely, penguins avoid sea lions as they are also known to prey on penguins when the opportunity arises—but it is not uncommon to find the animals here curiously approaching humans.
The swimmers in this group enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience as they played with sea lions and penguins in their own habitat and on their own terms.