I get a kick out of Harbor Seals, such fat sausages. Lying out on the rocks they look so harmless. You'd think they lived on seaweed. But they're actually carniverous predators that feed on fish. That's easy to believe if they open their mouth and you see their aggressive set of teeth. And if you see them maneuvering at high speed underwater it's easier to view them as hunters.
One day I noticed something floating just off shore. Seals usually show up as two rounded humps sticking up - their head and their back. This was just a single rounded shape.
It turned out it was a seal floating upside down with its head submerged, presumably watching for fish. Eventually it rolled over and showed its head.
I see the most Harbor Seals when I'm out kayaking. Especially in the spring and early summer they tend to haul out on some nearby islands. I avoid getting too close to them and stick to taking photos from a distance with a big telephoto lens. Their eyesight is better underwater than in the air but they still notice me, even at a distance. If they get nervous they go back in the water so I figure if they are staying out, I'm not bothering them too much.
They have quite a range of colors and spots, and the color changes depending on whether they are wet or dry. (Darker when wet.)
With no arms and legs and just small flippers, there's not a lot of variety in seal photos.
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