The North Devon coast is probably the last place you would

expect to be able to meet and swim with a Californian sea lion.

But, as WMN deputy picture editor Neil Hope found

out,  there’s much more to Combe Martin Wildlife and

Dinosaur Park than giant animatronic prehistoric reptiles

BEING an avid scuba diver, I've always held an affinity for

marine mammals – with whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions top

of my wish-list of animals to see.

I've had close encounters with the first three on the list,

and barring a transatlantic flight to California, the latter

always looked a highly remote possibility.

That is until an invitation arrived from Nikki Morrison, sea

lion curator at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park,

offering the chance to swim with one of its sea lions as part

of an ongoing education programme.

After a low-key launch last year, the chance to swim with

the sea lions has been a qualified success with more than 300

visitors enjoying a 20-minute interactive experience with

six-year-old Morgan, one of three sea lions at the park.

Morgan is the oldest of the park's sea lions –

three-year-olds Carlos and Aero make up the all-male trio.

And it is hoped that, after further training, Carlos and

Aero will join Morgan in the scheme.

Constant requests from visitors led Ms Morrison to seriously

consider the possibility of incorporating human interaction

with the animals as a means to both educate the public and

stimulate both the physical and mental well being of the sea

lions.

She said: “I do quite a lot of my training in the water –

it's where the sea lions feel the most comfortable, completely

in control and in charge. As with any animal training it's

important that they feel totally at ease.

“A lot of people would see me doing that and ask if they

could try, and as Morgan was such an ideal candidate, we did a

bit of research and realised there was nowhere else in the UK

where you could swim with marine mammals.”

She added: “We started to take things a little more

seriously, began doing a little more work with Morgan and then

got in touch with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) as it's

the ideal opportunity to use the experience to get the

conservation message across.”

I joined the swimmers, who can pet and stroke Morgan under

the close supervision of Ms Morrison and it seems the sea lion

enjoys the session as much as we humans – who are treated to a

tow across the pool and a kiss on the cheek before leaving the

pool.

“Morgan is the alpha of the group – he's really quite a

laid-back and chilled-out sea lion.

“But we also have a serious message to put across, such as a

presentation aimed at awareness of the marine ecosystem with a

percentage of every sea lion swim going to the MCS.”

Of course, the sea lions can have off-days just like the

rest of us.

Ms Morrison explained: “Sometimes, I'm stood there in front

of hundreds of people during a presentation and the sea lions

obviously just can't be bothered. Obviously I'm used to that

and respect that, and sometimes find it quite funny – but

occasionally, you can see a few glum faces out there in the

audience!

“However, most of our visitors are very understanding and

enjoy seeing them 'messing around' and being a bit

naughty.”