TRAVELSPECIAL
Cormorants herd the sardine schools at Los Islotes
When we got there the water was still a bit milky after the windy period , but we were greeted by a mass of sardines , shimmering in the shallow water . Every now and then , the schools would part with an audible rushing , as a predatory jack or a sea lion tried its luck . There were plenty of cormorants swimming underwater , wary of the divers but evidently keen on the sardines . The birds moved like heat-seeking torpedoes , leaving a trail of bubbles as they sped into the yielding wall of fish .
But it was the pups that held our fascination , those balls of unknowable energy , whose underwater gymnastics make our grey seals look a bit sluggish . In some respects , their behaviour was reminiscent to that of the UK ’ s grey pups – ritualised play , designed to develop their hunting skills and establish order in the hierarchy . There was fin nibbling ;
Sea lion side-eye
A raft of resting sea lions at San Rafaelito
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