Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) bulls establishing mating territories at the abandoned Stromness Whaling Station, South Georgia Island, South Atlantic Ocean, Polar Regions

Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) bulls establishing mating territories at the abandoned Grytviken Whaling Station, South Georgia Island, South Atlantic Ocean, Polar Regions

Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) bulls establishing mating territories at the abandoned Stromness Whaling Station, South Georgia Island, South Atlantic Ocean, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull mating with female, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, South Atlantic Ocean, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull mating with female, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, South Atlantic Ocean, Polar Regions

Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) bulls establishing mating territories at the abandoned Stromness Whaling Station, South Georgia Island, South Atlantic Ocean, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bulls fighting for territory for mating, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, UK Overseas Protectorate, Polar Regions

Beachmaster bull southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) attempting to mate at Peggotty Bluff, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Battle-scarred beachmaster southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bellowing a challenger, Peggotty Bluff, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Adult bull southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating in the surf at Gold Harbour on South Georgia Island, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Mother polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and cub-of-the-year disputing then allowing a male bear to feed on a fin whale, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway

Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) mating, St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) challenger bull in the surf at Gold Harbour on South Georgia Island, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Dead southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pup being eaten by an Antarctic skua on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Beachmaster bull southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) attempting to mate at Peggotty Bluff, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Northern giant petrels (Macronectes halli) fighting over the scavenging rights to a dead fur seal pup at St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia

Adult bull southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) flipping sand onto its back to cool off on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Adult bull southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) fighting for breeding grounds on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Adult bull southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) fighting for breeding grounds on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), beachmaster bull with female harem, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, UK Overseas Protectorate, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Antarctic fur seal bulls (Arctocephalus gazella) fighting for mating territory on South Georgia, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Northern giant petrels (Macronectes halli) fighting over the scavenging rights to a dead elephant seal pup at Royal Harbor, South Georgia

Northern giant petrels (Macronectes halli) fighting over the scavenging rights to a dead elephant seal pup at Royal Harbor, South Georgia

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Adult bull southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) fighting for breeding grounds on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding female down for mating, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, UK Overseas Protectorate, Polar Regions

Adult bull southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) fighting for breeding grounds on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding female down for mating, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, UK Overseas Protectorate, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island in the Southern Ocean

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) mating behavior on South Georgia Island in the Southern Ocean

Adult Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) hauled out on ice near the Antarctic Peninsula, Southern Ocean

Polar Bear (Ursa maritimus) on sea ice off the sub-arctic coast of Hudson Bay, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Bears come to the coast of Hudson Bay in Fall waiting for the ice to freeze, and looking for a careless seal or dead whale to wash up. Global warming has shortened their winter so they are increasingly anxious as they wait for winter. While they wait, they engage in frequent wrestling matches to determine a mating hierarchy for the breeding season in March and April, and regularly check on the ice to see if it will carry them out to sea.

King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) walking in front of a mating Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina), St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island

Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) mating, St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island