Southern Right Whale Photos, Eubalaena australis

Photos of Eubalaena australis, Southern Right Whale
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Courting pair of southern right whales underwater, Eubalaena australis. While the posture in this photo isn't quite mating, it is a courting behavior that often precedes mating. The male is below, upside down and trying to access the female belly-to-belly. However, the female does not want to mate, so she has positioned herself upside down at the surface so that the males in the courting group cannot reach her genital slit, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Whale hair on the rostrum and chin of a southern right whale, sidelit by the setting sun. These individual hairs provide sensor information to the whale as it swims through ocean currents or touches the ocean bottom, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Seagull picks skin off a southern right whale, leaving a lesion that may become infected and which scientists have shown to be stressful to young calves, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale raises its fluke tail out of the water prior to diving, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale fluke raised out of the water, tail slapping, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale raises its fluke tail out of the water prior to diving, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Breaching southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, Patagonia, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
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, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf, aerial photo, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf, aerial photo, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Courting pair of southern right whales underwater, Eubalaena australis. In this image, the male is below and inverted (belly up) and the female is at the surface. While the posture in this photo isn't quite mating, it is a courting behavior that often precedes mating, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf, Eubalaena australis, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
Inquisitive southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, closely approaches cameraman, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
Inquisitive southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, closely approaches cameraman, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
Inquisitive southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, closely approaches cameraman, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
Inquisitive southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, closely approaches cameraman, Argentina, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut
Southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale fluke tail, underwater, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis. About five per cent of southern right whales are born white due to a condition known as grey morphism and will gradually turn dark as they age. They are not albino (which is a complete lack of pigmentation). Sometimes referred to as "brindled", the white coloration is a recessive genetic trait and only lasts a few months. Typically, but not always, white calves will become much darker as they mature but will still be somewhat lighter than normal even as adults, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis. About five per cent of southern right whales are born white due to a condition known as grey morphism and will gradually turn dark as they age. They are not albino (which is a complete lack of pigmentation). Sometimes referred to as "brindled", the white coloration is a recessive genetic trait and only lasts a few months. Typically, but not always, white calves will become much darker as they mature but will still be somewhat lighter than normal even as adults, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis. About five per cent of southern right whales are born white due to a condition known as grey morphism and will gradually turn dark as they age. They are not albino (which is a complete lack of pigmentation). Sometimes referred to as "brindled", the white coloration is a recessive genetic trait and only lasts a few months. Typically, but not always, white calves will become much darker as they mature but will still be somewhat lighter than normal even as adults, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Mother and calf southern right whales underwater. The calf swims close to its mother but, if the mother is accepting, the calf will be allowed to come close to the photographer and check him out, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Mother and calf southern right whales underwater, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Mother and calf southern right whales underwater. The calf swims close to its mother but, if the mother is accepting, the calf will be allowed to come close to the photographer and check him out, Eubalaena australis, Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
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All photographs copyright © Phillip Colla / Oceanlight.com, all rights reserved worldwide.