Elephant Seals from San Simeon California
Feb 6, 2014 20:36:17 #
I shot some last month and some a few days ago. These animals are amazing to see.
Alpha male taking charge of his harem
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Alpha male in a love making mood
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Two very young bulls sparing with each other - these bulls are too young to achieve Alpha status. Most bulls never get the chance.
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Alpha male in a love making mood
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Alpha bulls nose - these noses can weigh up to 160 pounds and are used to spare with other bulls for the chance to take charge of their own harem. These noses have broken jaws of opponents causing a slow and certain death
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Here's a bull that got tangled in rope. The rope has been removed and he will be okay but it was a close call for him.
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The noises the bull makes when the cows are in estrus is a low base sound that wards off the young challengers and attracts fertile cows.
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Notice the many scared on the neck region of this bull. He has been challenged many times. When they come to mate, they often stay on the beach for up to 120 days without eating. When they return to the sea, they have lost much weight and will probably not be challengers in the next season because of this.
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GPS locator on this cow will fall off in about 4 months when the seal comes back to molt. It is simply glued on her head.
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Those are some giant flippers with huge nails.
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More love making
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Love making
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This is a very rare image since cow only have one pup at a time and only have enough milk to fatten up one pup. These 3 pups are called weaners since they have been weaned by their mother and must stay on the beach and live off their fat until they teach themselves to swim, find food and avoid predators like Orcas and sharks.
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This bull is exhausted because he keeps getting chased away by the larger Alpha bulls.
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Feb 6, 2014 20:37:10 #
Feb 6, 2014 21:11:47 #
Feb 6, 2014 23:20:30 #
Great photos and narrative!! You learn something new every day!
Feb 7, 2014 00:30:07 #
Feb 7, 2014 06:46:54 #
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