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California Babe
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are true seals, or earless seals, members of the pinniped suborder.
In the 1880's northern elephant seals were thought to be extinct, harvested by shore whalers and sealers for their blubber. The oil obtained from elephant seals is second in quality only to the sperm whale. A small group of between 20-100 elephant seals that bred on Guadalupe Island, off Baja California, survived the ravages of the seal hunts. Protected first by Mexico and later by the United States, they have steadily expanded their range. Today they are protected from hunting and harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. The total population estimate for northern elephant seals in 2003 is around 150,000. They migrate several thousands of miles each year, and dive to depths of 5,000 feet.
Unless they are mating, or fighting to mate, mostly they rest while on beaches like those at San Simeon. For complete information see: http://www.elephantseal.org/
PP: tight cropping to focus on this little one’s face
Burn across the rock in the right foreground
Slight dodging (50%) of body of seal on the left
Resize, sharpen and frame
(please see workshop for the full, unretouched orginal) |
elefantino has marked this note useful
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Updated |
| To elefantino: (^_^) | Silke |
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07-05 16:33 |
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Hi Silke, funny picture of this funny animal.
TSF
Andrea
Hm, either this elephant seal didn't like the sun in its eyes, or it was being coy with *YOU*! I like the unusual PoV!
Thanx for winking at this seal and sharing ... J.
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