Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/02/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nathan, (-: Thanks for looking Cheers Jayanand On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 12:39 PM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> wrote: > You make them look cute! > > Cheers, > Nathan > > Nathan Wajsman > Alicante, Spain > http://www.frozenlight.eu > http://www.greatpix.eu > PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws > Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ > > YNWA > > > > > > > > > > On Feb 7, 2014, at 2:19 PM, Jayanand Govindaraj wrote: > >> 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 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information