Courting group of southern right whales, aerial photo. Mating may occur as a result of this courting and social behavior. The white whale seen here is a serious player named El Copulador (the copulator) and is often seen in mating and courting groups of southern right whales at Peninsula Valdes. His light coloration is an indication that he was a white calf, but he did not darken as he aged in the way most white southern right whale calves do.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38357
Carlsbad Coast at Sunset, Terramar and the Oceanside Pier, with Camp Pendleton and the San Onofre power plant in the distance on this incredibly clean and crisp evening view. Rising in the distance is San Onofre Mountain (1722') topped by a tall signal tower, one of the southern peaks in the Santa Ana Mountains.
Location: Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 37482
Panorama dimensions: 1106 x 3500
Adult California brown pelican in transition from non-breeding to breeding winter plumage. Note the brown hind neck of a breeding brown pelican is just filling in. This pelican already displays the red and olive throat and white and yellow head feathers of an adult winter brown pelican.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 38679
Aerial photo of gray whale calf and mother. This baby gray whale was born during the southern migration, far to the north of the Mexican lagoons of Baja California where most gray whale births take place.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: San Clemente, California
Image ID: 29017
Blue whale, exhaling as it surfaces from a dive, aerial photo. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: Redondo Beach, California
Image ID: 25951
Black bear walking in a grassy meadow. Black bears can live 25 years or more, and range in color from deepest black to chocolate and cinnamon brown. Adult males typically weigh up to 600 pounds. Adult females weight up to 400 pounds and reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years of age. Adults stand about 3' tall at the shoulder.
Species: American black bear, Ursus americanus
Location: Orr, Minnesota
Image ID: 18741
Black bear walking in a grassy meadow. Black bears can live 25 years or more, and range in color from deepest black to chocolate and cinnamon brown. Adult males typically weigh up to 600 pounds. Adult females weight up to 400 pounds and reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years of age. Adults stand about 3' tall at the shoulder.
Species: American black bear, Ursus americanus
Location: Orr, Minnesota
Image ID: 18743
Black bear walking in a grassy meadow. Black bears can live 25 years or more, and range in color from deepest black to chocolate and cinnamon brown. Adult males typically weigh up to 600 pounds. Adult females weight up to 400 pounds and reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years of age. Adults stand about 3' tall at the shoulder.
Species: American black bear, Ursus americanus
Location: Orr, Minnesota
Image ID: 18748
Black bear walking in a grassy meadow. Black bears can live 25 years or more, and range in color from deepest black to chocolate and cinnamon brown. Adult males typically weigh up to 600 pounds. Adult females weight up to 400 pounds and reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years of age. Adults stand about 3' tall at the shoulder.
Species: American black bear, Ursus americanus
Location: Orr, Minnesota
Image ID: 18749
California sea lion, underwater at Santa Barbara Island. Santa Barbara Island, 38 miles off the coast of southern California, is part of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park. It is home to a large population of sea lions.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California
Image ID: 23418
A blue whale spouts at sunset. The blow, or spout, of a blue whale can reach 30 feet into the air. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 02217
San Clemente Island aerial photo, Pyramid Head and Balanced Rock at the southern end of the island. San Clemente Island Pyramid Head, the distinctive pyramid shaped southern end of the island, exhibits distinctive geologic terracing, underwater reefs and giant kelp forests.
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 38485
Panorama dimensions: 4232 x 12542
The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is found on the southern and western coasts of Australia. Its extravagent appendages serve only for camoflage, since it has a nearly-invisible dorsal fin that propels it slowly through the water. The leafy sea dragon is the marine emblem of South Australia.
Species: Leafy seadragon, Phycodurus eques
Location: Rapid Bay Jetty, South Australia
Image ID: 39134
Pyrosome drifting through a kelp forest, Catalina Island. Pyrosomes are free-floating colonial tunicates that usually live in the upper layers of the open ocean in warm seas. Pyrosomes are cylindrical or cone-shaped colonies made up of hundreds to thousands of individuals, known as zooids.
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 37166
California sea lions, underwater at Santa Barbara Island. Santa Barbara Island, 38 miles off the coast of southern California, is part of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park. It is home to a large population of sea lions.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California
Image ID: 23429