Sockeye Salmon

[Mike Tracy]

I guess fish are wildlife. From a little stream I was fishing in between Moose Pass and Seward, AK.

Not sure if this is some sort of mating ritual or males establishing dominance but the one kept attacking the other. Would be curious to know what this behavior is from someone here with more knowledge of this species.

MKIII, 70-200mm @ 98mm, 1/1250, f/8, ISO2000

[Steve Canuel]

Fish count as wildlife in my book Mike. Like the colors, the curve of the attacking salmon, and the swirling whirlpool. Looks like there's a bit of noise but I'm not sure if its noise or just diffusion of the water on the underlying rocks. As for the behavior, maybe he's trying to weed out the competition for later?
Steve

[Stephen Stephen]

Nice image Mike. Male salmon compete for positions over gravel breeding areas of the stream bed. Atlantic and Pacific salmon and trout species all create redds.

"The female salmon selects an area of clean gravel with a good current flowing over it and by repeatedly flexing her body dislodges stones to create a depression in the bed. Her eggs are ejected into the depression and simultaneously fertilised with milt from the male. The eggs are then covered over with more gravel which the female dislodges from upstream. The completed structure is known as a “redd."

Quoted section from: http://www.tdsfb.org/salmon-spawning.htm