These sea-lions are on the endangered list and are helped by amazing volunteers. This particular mom had given birth to pups 900 miles away on another island. After nursing them, she swam back to Oahu because she really likes sunning herself on this particular beach. So we were told by the volunteer, Lee Anne, who had arrived to rope off the sea lion’s turf and make sure no one approached her.

Luckily for us, momma sea-lion had just returned to this beach the day before, so we had a rare close encounter. Lee Anne runs up and down the coast following the sea lions to help protect them. Since most of them are tagged, the volunteers know their personal history like a friend. The parents of this particular girl had been poached, and the litter was her very first.