North Pacific humpback whales, a mother and calf pair swim closely together just under the surface of the ocean. The calf will remain with its mother for about a year, migrating from Hawaii to Alaska to feed on herring.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 00140
Humpback whale breaching, near Molokai, Hawaii. Megaptera novaeangliae. It is suspected the breaching often has a communicative purpose which depends on the behavioral context of the moment.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 00205
A great white shark opens it mouth just before it attacks its prey with a crippling, powerful bite. After the prey has been disabled, the shark will often wait for it to weaken from blood loss before resuming the attack. If the shark looses a tooth in the course of the bite, a replacement just behind it will move forward to take its place.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 19452
A kelp forest, with sunbeams passing through kelp fronds. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 02411
Scalloped hammerhead shark swims over a reef in the Galapagos Islands. The hammerheads eyes and other sensor organs are placed far apart on its wide head to give the shark greater ability to sense the location of prey.
Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16246
A great white shark swims through the clear waters of Isla Guadalupe, far offshore of the Pacific Coast of Mexico's Baja California. Guadalupe Island is host to a concentration of large great white sharks, which visit the island to feed on pinnipeds and use it as a staging area before journeying farther into the Pacific ocean.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 19465
A SCUBA diver swims through a giant kelp forest which is tilted back by strong ocean currents. Giant kelp, the fastest plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 01107