Three Californian Sea Lions playing with a Palm Frond

Three young Californian Sea lions Playing with a palm fronf. It is a bit like a game of rugby. One will take to frond and swim rapidly away with it with the others giving chase. when they catch up there is a short friendly struggle for possession and the process is repeated .Some times the possessor of the fried will drop it behind a rock and conceal it and swim away as the others try to find it. The Sea Lion will then swim round behind them pick it up and swim in the opposite direction soon followed by the others . They will use any piece of flotsam . I have even seen them playing wing with a banana that someone dropped into the water. Peddles and starfish are also popular objects for play. Sea lions are monomorphic until one of the dominant males starts to develop a domed forehead the rest will stay the same and become part of his controlled group forming a sub group within the colony