More pics from Monterey from

[Saknussem]

Mr and Mrs Saknussem!

Here we go. Once again the wife woke up, obviously, at the friggin CRACK of dawn, threw day old bread off the balcony and used her patented "scattercamera" method of capturing seagulls in flight. Camera used: Basic Canon G6, no attachments. Others are from around Monterey Bay, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and our hotel room. Not a bad place to hole up if we ever win a massive lottery, lol.




















Anyhow, those are our pics. Hope you enjoy them.

[glatt]

very nice!

[casimendocina]

Great pics. What's the thing doing backstroke in the lake in picture 1? (my excuse for not knowing is that my wildlife identification skills are limited to emus and other Australian native animals).

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by casimendocina

Great pics. What's the thing doing backstroke in the lake in picture 1? (my excuse for not knowing is that my wildlife identification skills are limited to emus and other Australian native animals).

My guess is the sea otter. These guys lay on their backs to crack open shellfish. Also, the males are some of the 'bad boys' of all of the mammals.

But it is the truly bizarre that tells the tale. I hesitate to mention this next story, but I am a biologist and thus legally obligated to bring you Truth. So, here goes. According to a paper by B. B. Hatfield et al. (Marine Mammal Science, 1994, vol. 10, pp. 114-116), off the coast of southern California, there are male sea otters that have attempted to have sex with, well, with harbor seals. I know, I know, this is illegal in every state in the Union except, perhaps, Mississippi, but are we really surprised to hear that "Sea Rats" are capable of this?

Second source here

Male Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) have been observed clasping and mounting other males (in the water) in the position usually seen during heterosexual matings. Male Sea Otters also sometimes mount and attempt to mate with Seals, including Harbor Seals and Northern Elephant Seals, and some of these interactions may be same-sex.

Wow, Elephant Seals? Have you seen what elephant seals look like? Talk about beer googles.

[casimendocina]

[sexobon]

Nice pics, thanks, they take me back to when I lived there for half a year while a student at the Defense Language Institute at the top of the Presidio.

I used to jog down onto the public beach every day where I'd occasionally have to detour around one of the big seals lying smack in the middle of the dry sand! I figured either it was sick; or, something bigger had chased it out of the water. At the time, I hadn't considered that it may simply have been avoiding a horny otter!