A great white shark bearing a white plastic researcher's identification ID tag near its dorsal fin swims through the clear waters of Isla Guadalupe, far offshore of the Pacific Coast of Baja California. Guadalupe Island is host to a concentration of large great white sharks, which visit the island to feed on pinnipeds and tuna.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 07739
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. Many 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.
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California
Image ID: 21606
Holiday Christmas Lights on Scripps Pier, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, sunset, aerial.
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 39880
Adult male humpback whale singing, suspended motionless underwater. Only male humpbacks have been observed singing. All humpbacks in the North Pacific sing the same whale song each year, and the song changes slightly from one year to the next.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02802
Humpback whale competitive group, several adult male escort whales swimming closely together as part of a larger competitive group.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02864
A great white shark is countershaded, with a dark gray dorsal color and light gray to white underside, making it more difficult for the shark's prey to see it as approaches from above or below in the water column. The particular undulations of the countershading line along its side, where gray meets white, is unique to each shark and helps researchers to identify individual sharks in capture-recapture studies. Guadalupe Island is host to a relatively large population of great white sharks who, through a history of video and photographs showing their countershading lines, are the subject of an ongoing study of shark behaviour, migration and population size.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 19468
Humpback whale competitive group, several adult male escort whales swimming closely together as part of a larger competitive group.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02862
Giant Black Sea Bass with Distinctive Identifying Black Spots that allow researchers to carry out sight/resight studies on the animals distributions and growth. Black sea bass can reach 500 pounds and 8 feet in length.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 39443
Humpback whale head lunge and blow in active group.
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 34537
Adult male humpback whale singing, suspended motionless underwater. Only male humpbacks have been observed singing. All humpbacks in the North Pacific sing the same whale song each year, and the song changes slightly from one year to the next.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02813
Humpback whale male escort emits a stream of bubbles during competitive group socializing. The whale is swimming so fast that the bubbles pass back alongside the whale.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02855
Male humpback whale bubble streaming underwater. The male escort humpback whale seen here is emitting a curtain of bubbles as it swims behind a mother and calf (barely seen in the distance).
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 04434
Adult male humpback whale bubble streaming underwater. The male escort humpback whale seen here is emitting a curtain of bubbles as it swims behind a female during competitive group activities. The bubble curtain may be meant as warning or visual obstruction to other nearby male whales interested in the female.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 04444
Large competitive group of humpback whales, eleven adult humpback whales seen in this image, part of a 16 whale competitive group.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 04459
North Pacific humpback whale, head standing near surface.
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05941
Male North Pacific humpback whale streams a trail of bubbles. The primary male escort whale (center) creates a curtain of bubbles underwater as it swims behind a female (right), with other challenging males trailing behind in a competitive group. The bubbles may be a form of intimidation from the primary escort towards the challenging escorts.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05968
Humpback whale, abandoned calf alongside University of Hawaii research boat. This young calf lived only a few days after being abandoned or separated from its mother, and was eventually attacked by tiger sharks.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05979
Adult male north Pacific humpback whale bubble streaming underwater in the midst of a competitive group. The male escort humpback whale seen here is emitting a curtain of bubbles as it swims closely behind a female, . The bubble curtain may be meant as warning or visual obstruction to other nearby males interested in the female.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05999
Hawaiian humpback whale underwater, sun beams dappling the whale in clear oceanic waters.
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 06007
Adult male north Pacific humpback whale bubble streaming underwater in the midst of a competitive group. The male escort humpback whale seen here is emitting a curtain of bubbles as it swims closely behind a female, . The bubble curtain may be meant as warning or visual obstruction to other nearby males interested in the female.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 06037