This California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) has a severe neck laceration caused by what is likely monofiliment fishing line wrapped around its neck and digging into its skin. Monofiliment fishing line is an exceptionally thin and strong type of synthetic line used for sportfishing. Given that it is designed to be nearly invisible in the water (so the fish do not see it), it is easy to imagine how a passing sea lion, turtle or diving seabird might become tangled in it were the animal unfortunate enough to encounter abandoned monofiliment line in the water. Abandoned fishing line? Absolutely! Fisherman often simply cut their lines if they are unable to clear a snagged line. The abandoned line will last hundreds of years in the water, waiting there to entangle whatever that it comes in contact with. Such line is quite thin and consequently cuts easily into even the tough hides of sea lions. And it is strong, meant to withstand the pull of strong gamefish, so it will not easily give way even if the sea lion were to somehow gain purchase on it and try to break it. Instead, the monofiliment line will slowly, steadily cut into the sea lion’s flesh, eventually causing the animal to suffer from suffocation, starvation or infection.
Appearances nothwithstanding, this sea lion was simply dozing and had been awake and alert minutes before this photo. However, the injury it is experiencing clearly has the potential for infection. I did not see this sea lion again so do not know if it was rescued and rehabilitated or ?
See more photos of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).
We came to Monterey packing some serious photo schwag to photograph the otters. Between Jon and I, we had two 50Ds and at least one each of 5D, 1DIIN, 1DsII, 300/2.8, 400/DO and 500/4 lenses, plus a nice medium format film rig. This sea otter (Enhydra lutris) was nevertheless quite unimpressed.
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When I visit Monterey I always make a stop by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Always. My kids love it, and I can get a better look at some of the undersea life by visiting the aquarium than if I went to the hassle of actually diving. (I used to dive in the cold waters of Monterey, but am now a wuss and … you get the picture.) The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the finest aquariums in the country. This sea nettle jellyfish (Chrysaora fuscescens) is beautifully lit in one of the Outer Bay jellyfish tanks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
I made this shot using some tricks I know for making good photos in an aquarium setting, hand held with no flash.
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A great egret (Ardea alba) stands on a floating patch of kelp, picking fish out of the water that are unfortunate enough to swim too close. Monterey’s famous Cannery Row stands in the background.
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Great egret catches a fish while standing on floating kelp in front of Cannery Row buildings, along the Monterey waterfront, early morning. Monterey, California, USA.
Image: 21554
Species: Ardea alba
Location: Monterey, California, USA
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Here is one of the cuter sea otters (Enhydra lutris) I managed to photograph in Monterey recently. After shooting one afternoon’s worth of otters, both Jon and I decided that it was not worth spending time taking pictures of the dark-faced otters — their deep brown fur made it tough to get an appealing exposure without blowing out the background. So, like guys are wont to do the world over, we focused our attention entirely on the blondes. Seen in this photo is “Paris,” known for her vacant expression and vacuous intellect.* As one would expect, the blond otters made for the best photos, something about having been to modeling school and having a good surgeon.
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A sea otter, resting on its back, holding its paw out of the water for warmth. While the sea otter has extremely dense fur on its body, the fur is less dense on its head, arms and paws so it will hold these out of the cold water to conserve body heat. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA.
Image: 21602
Species: Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA
 View this Image in Google Earth!
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See more of our sea otter photos.
* The astute observer will note that this otter, being male**, technically should not be named Paris. Good point, we’ll call him Jessica.
** If you are not able to identify this otter as a male, then go here to get the info.
I was recently up in Monterey to join Jon Cornforth trying to photograph sea otters (Enhydra lutris). We saw a few. In this photo, Casanova (the male sea otter on the left) is holding his lady friend (the female, inverted on the right, apparently not enjoying it) by HER NOSE as he mates with her. It is brutal, yes, but it is standard otter fare. Male sea otters usually mate with females in this manner, so much so that females can usually be identified by their scarred and wounded noses.
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Sea otters mating. The male holds the female’s head or nose with his jaws during copulation. Visible scars are often present on females from this behavior. Sea otters have a polygynous mating system. Males actively defend territories and will mate with females that inhabit their territory or seek out females in estrus if no territory is established. Males and females typically bond for the duration of estrus, or about 3 days. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA.
Image: 21606
Species: Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA
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See more of our sea otter photos.
What’s with the title of this post, you might wonder? Strangely, an earlier post of mine entitled “Rough Sex” has become one of the most popular posts on this site. So I thought I would do a little shameless SEO and use the technique again hoping for more visitors.
This photo of a Hermissenda crassicornis, also known as an “Opalescent nudibranch”, was shot in the early 90’s near Carmel on the Monterey Peninsula. We rented a house in the town of Carmel for a week. Anticipating foggy skies and cold murky water, we did not expect to do much diving. However, surprised with sunny weather and clearer-than-normal water, we made a number boat dives and a few beach dives not far from the house, resulting in a nice variety of invertebrate images including some nudibranchs. This is one of those images.
The Sea Slug Forum has a great fact sheet page on this species. Also, the SlugSite has an excellent species description of Hermissenda crassicornis.
Keywords: nudibranch photo, sea slug, Hermissenda crassicornis, underwater, photograph, Monterey, California, Carmel.
