Sleek patterned coats in the wild may have dazzling designs, but they're meant to hide.
Harbor seals, lolling on the rocks, come dressed in a variety of dappled patterns and colors, and from a distance they’re easy to miss in the shadows and shapes of the stone. Even more important, their fur helps them navigate the open waters of the Pacific where they feed without becoming lunch for the native sharks, including Great White Sharks, that prowl the same coastline here.
In heavy surf, white may be the very best camouflage. But the young seal pup here also shows signs of a dangerous escape, either from a predator or sharp rock.
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