Among the Chiswell Islands near Seward.
This 2,000 pound Steller's sea lion was by himself- the obvious loser in a battle for the ladies.
Two color images and one in B&W.
Thanks Douglas, Guari, Conrad, Ron, Harsha, Bruce, Ken and Tim.
Yes, he has four large flippers that are big enough and strong enough that he can stand, walk- and run without his belly dragging. When swimming, his power comes from the front flippers, whereas with true seals the power comes from the hind flippers. In these pics, though, he was sitting on a rock shelf that was a little higher than I was on the deck of the 100-foot boat, so I was looking up and the shelf restricted the view somewhat. Also, I had a 400mm prime lens and had to crop in camera.
I know this guy....it's Jaba the Hut!
Super shots Charlie...b&w is my pick.
Bobbing up and down doesn't make the easiest shot especially with a 400 prime!
Eric
Thanks Ken, Eric and Birdie.
Hand-held using ISO 100 film- just to make it more challenging .
It's not so bad getting beat up if the night ends well. But to get beat up and then go home for a cold shower- ugh!
Charlie
Thanks Paul, Da and Chris.
I'm not sure why the adult males have such thick necks, but in battles with other sea lion males for dominance, that's one place where they bite, and all that fur and fat must protect them from serious damage. There's a fair amount of blood loss, and it probably hurts, and swimming in salt water probably exacerbates the pain, but I suspect one combatant gives up before too much serious damage occurs.
Charlie
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