Natural History Photo of the Day

June 12, 2026

California sea lion underwater, Sea of Cortez, Mexico

California sea lion underwater, Sea of Cortez, Mexico

Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico
Created: 2015-10-09
Image ID: 31232

Previous 100 Natural History Photo of the Day entries

June 11, 2026: Tiger shark and underwater photographer
June 10, 2026: Pacific harbor seal mother and newborn pup, at the edge of the ocean at the Children's Pool in La Jolla
June 9, 2026: The Wreck of the HMCS Yukon in San Diego. Deliberately sunk in 2000 as part of San Diego's Wreck Alley to form an artifical reef, the HMCS Yukon is a 366-foot-long former Canadian destroyer. It is encrusted with a variety of invertebrate life, including Cornyactis anemones which provide much of the color seen here.
June 8, 2026: Bobcat, Sierra Nevada foothills, Mariposa, California.
June 7, 2026: Colorful anemones cover the rocky reef in a kelp forest near Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Strait. Strong currents bring nutrients to the invertebrate life clinging to the rocks.
June 6, 2026: Snow goose in flight.
June 5, 2026: Hotel Del Coronado and Coronado Island City Skyline, viewed from Point Loma
June 4, 2026: Coral reef expanse composed primarily of porites lobata, Clipperton Island, near eastern Pacific
June 3, 2026: Lunar Eclipse and blood red moon sequence over Arch Rock, planet Mars above the moon, composite image, Joshua Tree National Park, April 14/15 2014.
June 2, 2026: Spectacular pristine tropical reef with vibrant colorful soft corals. Dendronephthya soft corals, crinoids, sea fan gorgonians and schooling Anthias fishes, pulsing with life in a strong current over a pristine coral reef. Fiji is known as the soft coral capitlal of the world.
June 1, 2026: Beautiful Dendronephthya soft corals display incredible color on Fijian coral reefs. They swell when the current is running and extend outward to capture passing plankton and food.
May 31, 2026: Breaching southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, Patagonia
May 30, 2026: Spectacularly colorful dendronephthya soft corals on South Pacific reef, reaching out into strong ocean currents to capture passing planktonic food, Fiji
May 29, 2026: Flamingos, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
May 28, 2026: Aerial photo of Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad. The Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland in southern Carlsbad, California. Part of the lagoon is designated as the Batiquitos Lagoon State Marine Conservation Area, run by the California Department of Fish and Game as a nature reserve
May 27, 2026: Anacapa Island, west end, aerial photo
May 26, 2026: Stars and the Milky Way rise above ancient bristlecone pine trees, in the White Mountains at an elevation of 10,000' above sea level. These are some of the oldest trees in the world, reaching 4000 years in age.
May 25, 2026: Boat Ambar at Isla San Diego, Aerial View, Sea of Cortez
May 24, 2026: Steller sea lions underwater, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
May 23, 2026: Peregrine Falcon fledgelings jousting in mid-air during flight
May 22, 2026: Colorful anemones cover the rocky reef in a kelp forest near Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Strait. Strong currents bring nutrients to the invertebrate life clinging to the rocks.
May 21, 2026: Beautiful South Pacific coral reef, with Plexauridae sea fans, schooling anthias fish and colorful dendronephthya soft corals, Fiji
May 20, 2026: Peregrine Falcon in flight seen through tall grasses, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
May 19, 2026: California sea lion with strange eyes, Coronados Islands, Baja California, Mexico
May 18, 2026: Grand Canyon at sunrise viewed from Yavapai Point on the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park
May 17, 2026: Blue whale underwater closeup photo. This picture of a blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view. Since this blue whale was approximately 80-90' long and just a few feet from the camera, an extremely wide lens was used to photograph the entire enormous whale.
May 16, 2026: Tomb of Napolean Bonaparte in Les Invalides. Les Invalides, officially known as L'Hotel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose.
May 15, 2026: California sea lion injured by fishing line, at Los Islotes in the Southern Sea of Cortez
May 14, 2026: Mammoth Peak and alpine meadows in the High Sierra are reflected in Tioga Lake at sunrise. This spectacular location is just a short walk from the Tioga Pass road. Near Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite National Park.
May 13, 2026: King penguin, showing ornate and distinctive neck, breast and head plumage and orange beak.
May 12, 2026: Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
May 11, 2026: Mexican Barracuda, Los Islotes, Baja Califorinia
May 10, 2026: San Diego city skyline, showing the buildings of downtown San Diego rising above San Diego Harbor, viewed from Point Loma with the San Diego Yacht Club in the foreground, sunset.
May 9, 2026: Olowalu reef and West Maui mountains, Maui, Hawaii, aerial photo
May 8, 2026: South American sea lions hauled out on rocks to rest and warm in the sun, Otaria flavescens, Patagonia, Argentina
May 7, 2026: Wood Stork in flight, Mycteria americana
May 6, 2026: Courting group of southern right whales, aerial photo. Mating may occur as a result of this courting and social behavior.
May 5, 2026: Caribbean reef shark
May 4, 2026: Courting Pair of Southern Right Whales, Aerial Photo, Sand is disturbed in the shallow waters of Golfo Nuevo from their socialization and mating activities. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
May 3, 2026: Full Moon Rises over the San Diego City Skyline and Mount Laguna, viewed from Point Loma, panoramic photograph
May 2, 2026: Black's Beach sea cliffs, sunset, looking north from Scripps Pier with Torrey Pines State Reserve in the distance
May 1, 2026: Aerial Panorama Photo of Swamis and Encinitas Coastline. Swamis reef and Self Realization Fellowship.
April 30, 2026: Bodysurfing sea lions in La Jolla, suspended in a breaking wave as they play together, Boomer Beach
April 29, 2026: Steller sea lions underwater, black and white, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
April 28, 2026: Adams River sockeye salmon. A female sockeye salmon swims upstream in the Adams River to spawn, having traveled hundreds of miles upstream from the ocean.
April 27, 2026: A California Sea Lion Bodysurfing on a Big Wave at Boomer Beach in La Jolla
April 26, 2026: Full Moon over San Diego City Skyline, San Diego Convention Center
April 25, 2026: Anthias fishes school in strong currents above hard and soft corals on a Fijian coral reef, Fiji
April 24, 2026: Tiger shark close up view, including nostrils and ampullae of Lorenzini
April 23, 2026: Broad Tail of a Black Sea Bass in the California Kelp Forest showing distinctive unique black spots that allow researchers to identify individual giant sea bass.
April 22, 2026: Gray whale blowing at the ocean surface, aerial photo
April 21, 2026: Plastic Debris, Sorted and Cataloged for Study, collected on Clipperton Island
April 20, 2026: San Evaristo at dawn, panoramic view, a small fishing town, aerial photo, Sea of Cortez, Baja California
April 19, 2026: Aerial panorama of Clipperton Island, showing the entire atoll. Clipperton Rock, the top of an old volcano, is at middle bottom. Clipperton Island, a minor territory of France also known as Ile de la Passion, is a small (2.3 sq mi) but spectacular coral atoll in the eastern Pacific. By permit HC / 1485 / CAB (France)
April 18, 2026: Desert Lily in bloom, Anza Borrego Desert State Park
April 17, 2026: Oceanside Pier aerial photo, Oceanside, California
April 16, 2026: Steller sea lions underwater, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
April 15, 2026: San Clemente Island, aerial photo, steep cliffs and mountainous terrain on the south eastern shore of the island.
April 14, 2026: Full moon rising at night over the San Diego County Fair. Del Mar Fair at night.
April 13, 2026: Paraglider soaring at Torrey Pines Gliderport, sunset, flying over the Pacific Ocean.
April 12, 2026: Freediver photographing pelagic gelatinous zooplankton, adrift in the open ocean.
April 11, 2026: False Kiva at Sunset, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
April 10, 2026: Sunset and Coral trees, San Diego Embarcadero Marina Park.
April 9, 2026: Brandt's Cormorant in Flight
April 8, 2026: California sea lions, Coronado Islands.
April 7, 2026: Barrel cactus, brittlebush and wildflowers color the sides of Glorietta Canyon. Heavy winter rains led to a historic springtime bloom in 2005, carpeting the entire desert in vegetation and color for months.
April 6, 2026: Western gull, flying.
April 5, 2026: Tiger shark and underwater photographer
April 4, 2026: Aerial photo of Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad. The Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland in southern Carlsbad, California. Part of the lagoon is designated as the Batiquitos Lagoon State Marine Conservation Area, run by the California Department of Fish and Game as a nature reserve
April 3, 2026: Male and female southern right whales mating underwater, Eubalaena australis. The male positions himself below the female and turns upside down, so the two whales are belly-to-belly and can mate. Sand has been stirred up by the courtship activities and the water is turbid.
April 2, 2026: Peregrine Falcon in flight, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
April 1, 2026: A California Brown Pelican flying over the Pacific Ocean, spreads its large wings wide to slow down as it banks, turns in midair, to land on seacliffs in La Jolla. Winter adult non-breeding plumage.
March 31, 2026: Spiny brittle stars (starfish) detail.
March 30, 2026: San Diego City Skyline at Sunset, viewed from Point Loma, panoramic photograph. The mountains east of San Diego can be clearly seen when the air is cold, dry and clear as it is in this photo. Lyons Peak is in center and the flanks of Mount San Miguel to the right.
March 29, 2026: California Brown Pelican flying over a breaking wave
March 28, 2026: Castle Geyser erupts, reaching 60 to 90 feet in height and lasting 20 minutes. While Castle Geyser has a 12 foot sinter cone that took 5,000 to 15,000 years to form, it is in fact situated atop geyserite terraces that themselves may have taken 200,000 years to form, making it likely the oldest active geyser in the park. Upper Geyser Basin.
March 27, 2026: Colorful Chironephthya soft coral colonies in Fiji, hanging off wall, resembling sea fans or gorgonians.
March 26, 2026: SCUBA Diver and Steller Sea Lions Underwater, underwater photographer, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
March 25, 2026: Coastal brown bear cub, one and a half years old, near Johnson River. This cub will remain with its mother for about another six months, and will be on its own next year.
March 24, 2026: California Golden gorgonian in kelp forest.
March 23, 2026: Brown pelican soaring in flight with wings fully outstretched. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status.
March 22, 2026: Garibaldi fish on kelp forest reef, underwater.
March 21, 2026: Steller sea lion underwater, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
March 20, 2026: Blue shark underwater in the open ocean
March 19, 2026: Leather coral, Sinularia sp., Fiji
March 18, 2026: White pelican flying over Lake Hodges, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
March 17, 2026: California sea lion, La Jolla
March 16, 2026: A giant black sea bass is an endangered species that can reach up to 8 feet in length and 500 pounds, often found amid the giant kelp forest, Once nearly fished to extinction and now thought to be at risk of a genetic bottleneck, the giant sea bass is slowly recovering and can be seen in summer months in California's kelp forests.
March 15, 2026: Lion female, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
March 14, 2026: Juvenile California Brown Pelican Flying over the Ocean, early morning light just after sunrise.
March 13, 2026: Waves break on the coral reef and wash ashore at Clipperton Island, aerial photo. Clipperton Island, a minor territory of France also known as Ile de la Passion, is a spectacular coral atoll in the eastern Pacific. By permit HC / 1485 / CAB (France)
March 12, 2026: Vogelsang Peak (11516') at sunset, reflected in a small creek near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp in Yosemite's high country.
March 11, 2026: Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange.
March 10, 2026: Snow geese fly in huge numbers at sunrise. Thousands of wintering snow geese take to the sky in predawn light in Bosque del Apache's famous "blast off". The flock can be as large as 20,000 geese or more.
March 9, 2026: San Diego downtown skyline, viewed from Point Loma.
March 8, 2026: A kelp forest. Giant kelp grows rapidly, up to 2' per day, from the rocky reef on the ocean bottom to which it is anchored, toward the ocean surface where it spreads to form a thick canopy. Myriad species of fishes, mammals and invertebrates form a rich community in the kelp forest. Lush forests of kelp are found through California's Southern Channel Islands.
March 7, 2026: Unidentified gull in flight, La Jolla
March 6, 2026: Pacific torpedo ray Tetronarce californica, amidst huge schools of fish and baitfish, Farnsworth Banks, Catalina Island. This electric ray will shock the hell out of you if you are not careful.
March 5, 2026: Black Oaks below El Capitan, Quercus kelloggii, El Capitan meadow, Yosemite Valley
March 4, 2026: Clown Nudibranch, Triopha catalinae, Browning Passage, Vancouver Island