thephotosocietyさんのインスタグラム写真 - (thephotosocietyInstagram)「Photo by @bethjwald// A young sea elephant does a belly crunch to get at a pesky itch, while basking with buddies on a beach along the Patagonia coast of Argentina. It is approaching mid-winter at the southern tip of South America and the weather is harsh and inhospitable to humans, but marine life thrives in the productive waters of the South Atlantic. A thick layer of fat protects elephant seals from the cold; these young ones are about 5 feet long but male elephant seals can reach up to 5 meters and weigh up to 8,800 pounds! Males spend up to 80% of their life feeding on fish in the South Atlantic, an ocean that is pristine and largely unexplored but is also one of the world’s seas most threatened by overfishing. But there has been progress - last year CLT Argentina, the Argentine team of Tompkins Conservation, helped create the country’s first two National Marine Parks off the coast of Tierra del Fuego and they are also working with the provincial government and local communities in Chubut to protect land and sea along this wild coast. Follow me for more images over the next weeks as I explore the winter landscapes of Patagonia and conservation initiatives! @tompkins_conservation @cltargentina #patagoniacoast #patagoniawild #sinazulnohayverde #marinemammals #southernwinter」7月11日 22時38分