Breathe Between Two Worlds - 3
The Mystical Naturalist muses over lessons from the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) exploring echoes of exploitation and the art of balance in Part 3 of 4.
So far in this journey through the world of sea lions, we've witnessed their sacred dance between realms and explored both the ancient wisdom they carry and the environmental challenges they face. Part 3 confronts a more difficult truth: how human hands have shaped their story, and what their response teaches us about the art of living.
If you missed previous segments in this series, find them here:
Above: California Sea Lions rest in a shoreline park in the Monterey Bay of California. (Copyright 2024 by Diana L Guerrero. All Rights Reserved.)
Echoes of Exploitation
There was a time when the surfacing rhythms of the California sea lions were disrupted by the human pursuit of oil and fur. In the 19th century, whalers and hunters pushed deeper into the wild coasts, and during the Fur Rush of the time, Zalophus californianus became another resource rendered for hides, oil, and meat. Commercial harvesting diminished entire colonies, especially in southern rookeries. What breath once marked their presence between worlds was missing, reduced to commodity.
Captivity followed. Trained for wartime operations, circus acts, and oceanarium displays, sea lions were cast as both novelty and service animal. Behind the antics lay the sobering truth of dislocation. Removed from their kin and currents, these animals adapted with startling intelligence, but their wild inheritance of long-range migration, deep diving, and coastal navigation was curtailed.
Though now protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, Zalophus californianus populations have risen but continue to encounter the aftershocks of past human choices. Entanglements with fishing gear, pollution, and noise disrupt their ancient pathways. Rising ocean temperatures and shifts in prey distribution, many are tied to anthropogenic climate change, pushing the resilience of these pinnipeds to the limit.
Yet they surface, lungs full, flippers raised, voices lifted in a loud chorus spanning generations. They remind us that while damage can be done swiftly, healing requires patience, protection, and humility.
The Art of Balance
Watching sea lions move between their two worlds teaches something profound about the art of living. One moment they are torpedo fast, sleek predators twisting and darting through kelp forests in pursuit of prey. The next, they're hauled out on rocks in relaxed piles, or floating in calmer water near the pier with flippers raised like solar panels, absorbing warmth and rest in equal measure.
They live in constant negotiation between effort and ease, solitude and community. A sea lion might bark territorial warnings one moment, then settle shoulder-to-shoulder with neighbors the next. They don't hide their needs, their exhalations are proclamations, their rest is taken in full view for all to see, and their protests are voiced without apology.
They provide lessons worth learning. Living between two elements, whether literal like the sea lions, or metaphorical like our own daily transitions between work and rest, solitude and connection, requires not just endurance but wisdom. They nudge us to know when to dive deep and when to surface, when to call out, and when to rest in silence.
Their lives are written in rhythms of diving and surfacing, of hunting and hauling out, of individual effort and communal rest. They remind us that balance isn't a fixed state but a dynamic dance.
And so, you are invited to stand at the ocean's edge and witness that sudden, wild exhalation at the surface. Pause. Listen. In that breath, in that moment of crossing between worlds, something ancient and essential is being spoken. The sea lions have been teaching us for millennia. Will we listen?
We are living in the long breath between harm and healing. The California sea lion calls attention to both human exploitation and protection. How can we deepen our understanding of these remarkable beings and the communities that have long honored them?
Discover some of the voices, research, and scholarship behind the “Breath Between Worlds” series next week in Part 4. You’ll find a mix of resources that have helped inform this series including those with Indigenous perspectives, marine biology research, scientific studies, knowledge reservoirs, and both physical and virtual locations where you can learn more about these amazing marine mammals.
What moments of balance have you witnessed in nature? How do sea lions inspire your own navigation between different worlds? Share your reflections below.