If all goes well, these photos from John Avise, one showing pinnipeds, will appear as his usual Sunday contribution. (I’m scheduling it in advance.) John’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Whale-watching Trips, Part 4. Pinnipeds
No, they’re not cetaceans, but seals and sea lions are other marine mammals sometimes seen on whale-watching tours out of Southern California. This week I continue the “Whale-watching” series by showing my photos of some pinniped species that I’ve encountered on these nature excursions.
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus):
California Sea Lion, juvenile:
California Sea Lion, head shot:
California Sea Lion, group basking:
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina), swimming:
Harbor Seal, basking:
Harbor Seal, headshot:
Harbor Seal, pup nursing:
Harbor Seals, basking:
Harbor Seals, swimming and basking:
Harbor Seals, adult and pup on land:
It worked!
And thank you, John, for sharing this post.
Beautiful! We also see pinnipeds on whale-watching trips in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Such interesting creatures!
Fun to watch pinnipeds. Great photos.
Especially of the one nursing.
Thanks!
Love the diversion to sea lions on the theme of the series…. did I write that correctly?…
Very nice! 🦭🦭🦭