Sea lions ride wild surf to the tune of ‘Wipeout’

Last week a film crew captured spectacular footage showing sea lions surfing giant waves off Santa Barbara Island, within Channel Islands National Park.

The footage, which shows the agile pinnipeds riding and jumping through the backs of towering swells, was posted to <a href=" But Ryan Lawler, who runs Pacific Offshore Expeditions, on Wednesday posted the accompanying Facebook version, to the tune of the famous Surfaris hit, ‘Wipeout.’

Viewers might find the high-energy music fitting for a scene so remarkable that the crew, including a National Geographic cameraman, was back at Santa Barbara Island on Thursday, hoping to capture more footage.

Said Lawler of last week’s encounter: “As we rounded the southern portion of the island, which has an islet called Sutil Island, we noticed sea lions flying out of the back of the waves. It was an awesome moment.

“I was ‘wowed’ because I had never seen that before at this island, which is well known for its sea lions. So we stayed there for 20 minutes, observing and waiting for the sun to break up the fog. Then we dove for about 90 minutes and came back, but all the sea lions had disappeared.”