[Leica] There Be Beasties...

[philippe.amard at sfr.fr (philippe.amard)]

Wonderful sights Jayanand!!!

My favourite is this one
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3532.jpg.html
because of the little fellow trying to pretend he's not concerned  
whatsoever with what they're doing ;-)

Amazing series

Amities
Philippe

Le 7 f?vr. 14 ? 14:19, Jayanand Govindaraj a ?crit :

> Elephant Seals look like prehistoric beasts, something out of a  
> fantasy
> novel, or an RPG computer game, weird and sort of out of this world.  
> In
> Gold Harbour, there were hundreds of juvenile males, most of them  
> lying in
> groups, moulting their skin, piled close to each other, in a pungent
> mixture of mud, water and their excreta. Their mating season gets  
> over in
> November, so the 5 tonne fully grown adult males were all out to sea,
> feeding and replenishing their reserves. They are quite amazing  
> beasts, and
> radio tracking has now confirmed that they dive to 5000+ feet in the  
> ocean,
> resurface for half a minute and dive again to the same depth. Nobody  
> has as
> yet cottoned on to the body chemistry that allows them to do that, and
> research is still active around this.
>
> Here a King Penguin inspects one such group:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3476.jpg.html
>
> Usually, their inactivity is marred only by a leisurely scratch on a
> particularly itchy bit of moulting skin:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3568.jpg.html
>
> They let you get quite close to them, just looking curiously back at  
> you
> with those limpid eyes:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3648.jpg.html
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3781.jpg.html
>
> Some pray on the waters edge (-:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3714.jpg.html
>
> But these are juveniles, and the testosterone flow is strong, and
> periodically they test their strength with each other, in training to
> become Beachmasters when they grow up, as well as decide the pecking  
> order
> within a group. They joust on land:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3455.jpg.html
>
> At waters edge:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3532.jpg.html
>
> They come in all shapes, sizes and colours:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3872.jpg.html
>
> The standard move is to rear back, mouths agape:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3890.jpg.html
>
> Then lunge and thud into each other:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3921.jpg.html
>
> Frequently ending in a boxer's clinch:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3850.jpg.html
>
> They are so preoccupied, you can get in close, on foot, reasonably  
> safely:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3962.jpg.html
>
> Closer:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_4016.jpg.html
>
> And closer still:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/antarctica/Antarctica_20140113_3937.jpg.html
>
> They are surprisingly fast on land, and one has to keep an eye out for
> accidentally being trampled over, which with that weight and  
> bulk.....(-:
>
> Please see LARGE
>
> Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome
>
> Cheers
> Jayanand
>
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One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible  
to the eye. Antoine de Saint Exup?ry in Le Petit Prince.
NO ARCHIVE