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The Epic Battle of the Elephant Seals
The Epic Battle of the Elephant Seals
Rissa


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2007-02 (Advanced Editing V)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
Location: Año Nuevo State Reserve
Date: Feb 18, 2007
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/640
Galleries: Animals, Action
Date Uploaded: Feb 19, 2007

 We went out to Año Nuevo State Reserve, 55 mile south of San Francisco and the site of the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for the northern elephant seal, so named for their large size and the protruding nose seen on the males. The huge males battle each other to establish dominance; those successful do most of the breeding. At Año Nuevo SR, people are taken out on guided walks to get within 25 feet of some of the seals. A male elephant seal will plow down anything between him and an opposing male, including baby seals and humans, so the guided walks keep the humans from getting in the way of an angry male elephant seal. This is an image from one of the battles we witnessed during the small time we were watching - you can see why the males all have large patches of scarring on their necks and bodies. It was quite an experience to see the throngs of elephant seals out there on the beach and the males scooting about and fighting each other - I will place some more photos from the trip in my portfolio for those interested.

Statistics
Place: 285 out of 624
Avg (all users): 5.6705
Avg (commenters): 6.8000
Avg (participants): 5.5942
Avg (non-participants): 5.9474
Views since voting: 1567
Views during voting: 215
Votes: 176
Comments: 6
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 03/08/2007 01:21:01 AM
Under rated!!! Great image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/07/2007 09:38:31 AM
There must be an incredible story behind this! Nice capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/06/2007 08:59:36 AM
great capture,
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/04/2007 02:26:07 AM
Nice capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/01/2007 07:50:12 AM
What a beautiful, touching photo! I would so love to live where I could get pictures like this! I love this photo ALOT!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/28/2007 08:57:32 PM
Nice capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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