Sea Lions to the Rescue--Trainers Hope

Two lifeguards with black coats, cold noses and flippers may take up residence on a Southern California beach next summer if trainers succeed in teaching a pair of sea lions to be ocean-going rescuers.

The trainers hope to teach the slippery mammals to carry lifesaving buoys to tired swimmers, tow swimmers to shore and perhaps locate valuables lost in the surf.

“It (the project) certainly would be worthwhile if is saves one person’s life,” said Bill Ford, executive officer of Friends of the Sea Lion, which began the experiment last November at its Laguna Canyon facility.

“I can assure you a sea lion going 30 m.p.h. can beat a lifeguard 100 yards out to a potential drowning victim,” Ford said. “The difference in time . . . could save a good number of seconds in aiding a drowning victim.”

Dolphins are used by the Navy, among others, for a variety of purposes, but Friends of the Sea Lion, one of six licensed marine mammal rehabilitation centers in California, believes its program is the first ocean-rescue training of sea lions.

The 1 1/2-year-old sea lions, Joyce and Faye, were donated for the experiment by Marineland in Rancho Palos Verdes. Joyce was born at the aquatic amusement park and Faye was treated there for injuries suffered at sea.

Karin Wyman, the volunteer organization’s only full-time employee, trains the sea lions twice a day in addition to her regular duties of treating sick and injured sea lions, harbor seals and elephant seals. Once recovered, those animals are returned to the wild.

Wyman, 20, a marine biology student at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, said the sea lions are responding favorably to the training.

“They’re very intelligent animals,” she said in a telephone interview. “They’re willing to try and do what you ask them to do. I’m amazed at how quickly they’ve learned. Each day I can add a little bit more.”