Tourists observe a large male elk, known as a bull, with large set of antlers. By September, this bull elk's antlers have reached their full size and the velvet has fallen off. This bull elk has sparred with other bulls for access to herds of females in estrous and ready to mate.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19728
Gray whale raising its fluke (tail) in front of a boat of whale watchers before diving to the ocean floor to forage for crustaceans, Cow Bay, Flores Island, near Tofino, Clayoquot Sound, west coast of Vancouver Island.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: Cow Bay, Flores Island, British Columbia, Canada
Image ID: 21182
Gray whale raising its fluke (tail) in front of a boat of whale watchers before diving to the ocean floor to forage for crustaceans, Cow Bay, Flores Island, near Tofino, Clayoquot Sound, west coast of Vancouver Island.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: Cow Bay, Flores Island, British Columbia, Canada
Image ID: 21183
Gray whale raising its fluke (tail) in front of a boat of whale watchers before diving to the ocean floor to forage for crustaceans, Cow Bay, Flores Island, near Tofino, Clayoquot Sound, west coast of Vancouver Island.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: Cow Bay, Flores Island, British Columbia, Canada
Image ID: 21185
North Pacific humpback whale showing extensive scarring, almost certainly from a boat propeller, on dorsal ridge. This female North Pacific humpback whale was first seen with the depicted lacerations near the island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands in the mid-90s, and is the original humpback to bear the name 'Blade Runner'. This female has apparently recovered, as evidenced the calf she was observed nurturing. A South Pacific humpback whale endured a similar injury in Sydney Australia in 2001, and bears a remarkably similar scar pattern to the above-pictured whale.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05910
Tourists observe a group of Pacific harbor seals resting while hauled out on a sandy beach. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach.
Species: Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardsi
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 10449