When they get close...

Sometimes it is us that becomes the subject of curiosity..

I was on a remote Island in Scotland conducting some research of the seals and so was sitting among the colony which was in excess of 2000 animals strong. I was getting some ID shots of individuals to compare them with the database from previous years.

This male grey seal was getting closer and closer until he stopped about 0.5-1m away from me to the extent that I could smell his breath...! He had an agenda that was directed towards the females that were also close by, however his advances were savagely met when he over stepped the mark and the female attacked him..!

I didn't have to much room for maneuver without disturbing both him and the colony but I managed to turn quietly and get a couple of shots during his approach. Not the normal image of the seals you might see at DN but for me it was a close encounter of many I will remember from that trip and the seals were not bothered by my presence which is why I was able to witness the whole episode and then for the female to go back to suckle her pup..

Brett

Tech: Canon 30D, Sig 50-500mm, F16 @ 1/100
Been having a problem uploading the correct image but think I got there..

Nice intimate image of this bull seal, very nice Brett
Rene de Heer

A real Stunner.

Nice one Brett - very intimate.

Its interesting to watch a seal colony, how the pups hang on the dear life and the females dedicate their entire time to feeding them. Then watch the bulls all queueing up for some action, waiting day and night to get their chance without a care in the world.

Just as long as his amorous attentions were not directed towards you!

David

Works for me - a real sense of melancholy. Which just goes to show how we interpret animal behaviour from our own perspective all the time - you know what his real thoughts were!



Mark

Works for me - a real sense of melancholy. Which just goes to show how we interpret animal behaviour from our own perspective all the time - you know what his real thoughts were!



Mark

Very nice shot, so much detail, and great to hear the story behind it!

The image hasn't loaded on my screen.
Robert

Hi Brett this is one very good close up shot.

Certainly an intimate image, very nicely taken, knowing the size of these I'm not sure I would have stuck around to get the image

Speak soon

now that's a close-up. Very nice, I like the eye contact.

Matt

Thanks folks, it was among one of the many close encounters I had with these guys and on each occasion they barely showed an interest in me at all. I think on one occasion I was playing a game of hide-and-seek around a boulder I happen to be sitting behind and another when one male was being chased by another and the one being chased almost landed on top of me when I was sitting under a ledge, not expecting a seal to fall out of the sky..

Kind regards,

Brett

Very nice close up Brett, you don't see this level of detail very often