Search results for Behavior

Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight in the surf for access for mating females that are in estrous. Such fighting among elephant seals can take place on the beach or in the water. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 20369  

Humpback whale breaching, pectoral fin and rostrom visible.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 27958  

Common Dolphin Breaching the Ocean Surface.
Species: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 34234  

Common Dolphin Breaching the Ocean Surface.
Species: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 34235  

Common Dolphin Breaching the Ocean Surface.
Species: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 34236  

Spiny brittle stars (starfish) detail.
Species: Brittle sea star, Ophiothrix spiculata
Image ID: 35074  

Spiny brittle stars (starfish) detail.
Species: Brittle sea star, Ophiothrix spiculata
Image ID: 35077  

Spiny brittle stars (starfish) detail.
Species: Brittle sea star, Ophiothrix spiculata
Image ID: 35079  

Male elephant seals (bulls) rear up on their foreflippers and fight for territory and harems of females. Bull elephant seals will haul out and fight from December through March, nearly fasting the entire time as they maintain their territory and harem. They bite and tear at each other on the neck and shoulders, drawing blood and creating scars on the tough hides. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 35144  

Bull elephant seal, adult male, bellowing. Its huge proboscis is characteristic of male elephant seals. Scarring from combat with other males.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 35149  

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.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38345  

Giant kelpfish in underwater kelp forest, Catalina Island.
Species: Giant kelpfish, Heterostichus rostratus
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 40523  

South Pacific Humpback Whale Underwater, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40636  

Inquisitive Calf South Pacific Humpback Whale Underwater, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40643  

South Pacific Humpback Whale Underwater, showing all-white underside of the fluke and ventral caudal stem, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40647  

Inquisitive Calf South Pacific Humpback Whale Underwater, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40650  

South Pacific Humpback Whales and Short Finned Pilot Whales Underwater, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Shortfin pilot whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, Globicephala macrorhynchus
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40652  

South Pacific Humpback Whales Underwater, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40661  

Mother, Calf and Escort South Pacific Humpback Whales Underwater, Moorea, French Polynesia.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia, France
Image ID: 40679  

Two giant black sea bass swim in a courtship circle, part of a larger gathering of a mating aggregation amid kelp forest, Catalina Island. In summer months, black seabass gather in kelp forests in California to form mating aggregations. Courtship behaviors include circling of pairs of giant sea bass, production of booming sounds by presumed males, and nudging of females by males in what is though to be an effort to encourage spawning.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 33357  

Two Giant black sea bass hover in the kelp forest as a courting pair, part of a larger mating aggregation at Catalina Island. In summer months, giant black seabass gather in kelp forests in California to form mating aggregations leading to spawning. Courtship behaviors include circling of pairs of giant sea bass, production of booming sounds by presumed males, and nudging of females by males in what is though to be an effort to encourage spawning.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 33360  

Five giant black sea bass in a mating and courtship aggregation in the kelp forest at Catalina Island. In summer months, black seabass gather in kelp forests in California to form mating aggregations leading to spawning. Courtship behaviors include circling of pairs of giant sea bass, production of booming sounds by presumed males, and nudging of females by males in what is though to be an effort to encourage spawning.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 33361  

Two Giant sea bass comprise a courting pair as part of a larger mating aggregation amid the kelp forest at Catalina Island. In summer months, giant seabass gather in kelp forests in California to form mating aggregations leading to spawning. Courtship behaviors include circling of pairs of giant sea bass, production of booming sounds by presumed males, and nudging of females by males in what is though to be an effort to encourage spawning.
Species: Giant black sea bass, Stereolepis gigas
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 33362  

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: 02794  

Humpback whale competitive group, underwater, swimming quickly and one trailing a stream of bubbles.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 02854  

Large competitive group of humpback whales seen underwater.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 04462  

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 mother and calf. The bubble curtain may be meant as warning or visual obstruction to other nearby male whales interested in the mother.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05928  

North Pacific humpback whales, part of a larger competitive group of humpbacks.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 05946  

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.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38355