antonsrkn
Lizard Alarm
Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) & Galápagos lava lizard (Microlophus albemarlensis) - Rabida Island, Galapagos National Park, Ecuador
More than anything I like photographing natural interactions between individuals and species. Oftentimes when it comes to inter-species interactions these are events such as predation, however once in a while these brief moments take on a lighter tone. This was certainly the case of the lizard-sea lion rendezvous photographed here. This young sea lion had hauled himself up unto the beach and had only one thing on his mind which was to sleep. As he slept, flies were attracted to the moisture of his nose and eyes and flew in and perched on his head, the young lion didn't seem at all bothered. However, the flies attracted this hungry lizard as well who slowly crept in and got extremely close to the sleeping lion before leaping onto his head in order to capture the flies there. The lion unbothered by the presence of the flies on his head was obviously perturbed about the landing of this new larger visitor and shook him off sending the lizard flying through the air before moving around and attempting to go to sleep. However, the lizard didn't seem to mind and began its slow creep towards the sea lion once again, and again it pounced this time and again the sea lion reacted by shaking the lizard off. This repeated itself several times with the lizard successfully gorging itself on flies and the sea lion visibly frustrated at not being allowed his beauty sleep. Right before this photo was taken the lizard had stealthily crept up and snatched a fly off the tip of the lion's nose. The sea lion disturbed once again, gave the lizard, who had scrambled a short distance away, this sleepy look not so different to the one I give my alarm clock most mornings. After this the lizard must have decided it had eaten his fill and retired to a basking spot nearby, which was a shame as I could have kept photographing their interactions all day, especially as I hadn't been able to get a photo of the young sea lion shaking the lizard off yet.
Lizard Alarm
Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) & Galápagos lava lizard (Microlophus albemarlensis) - Rabida Island, Galapagos National Park, Ecuador
More than anything I like photographing natural interactions between individuals and species. Oftentimes when it comes to inter-species interactions these are events such as predation, however once in a while these brief moments take on a lighter tone. This was certainly the case of the lizard-sea lion rendezvous photographed here. This young sea lion had hauled himself up unto the beach and had only one thing on his mind which was to sleep. As he slept, flies were attracted to the moisture of his nose and eyes and flew in and perched on his head, the young lion didn't seem at all bothered. However, the flies attracted this hungry lizard as well who slowly crept in and got extremely close to the sleeping lion before leaping onto his head in order to capture the flies there. The lion unbothered by the presence of the flies on his head was obviously perturbed about the landing of this new larger visitor and shook him off sending the lizard flying through the air before moving around and attempting to go to sleep. However, the lizard didn't seem to mind and began its slow creep towards the sea lion once again, and again it pounced this time and again the sea lion reacted by shaking the lizard off. This repeated itself several times with the lizard successfully gorging itself on flies and the sea lion visibly frustrated at not being allowed his beauty sleep. Right before this photo was taken the lizard had stealthily crept up and snatched a fly off the tip of the lion's nose. The sea lion disturbed once again, gave the lizard, who had scrambled a short distance away, this sleepy look not so different to the one I give my alarm clock most mornings. After this the lizard must have decided it had eaten his fill and retired to a basking spot nearby, which was a shame as I could have kept photographing their interactions all day, especially as I hadn't been able to get a photo of the young sea lion shaking the lizard off yet.