Like many octopuses, the female greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) is a semelparous animal, which means she reproduces once and then dies. After she lays a clutch of eggs, she quits eating and wastes away while protecting her eggs, dying shortly after her eggs hatch.
While photographing the wrecks throughout the day, I noticed a few wobbegong sharks, but they were difficult to photograph as they rested under ledges or in sheltered spots.
Each year humpback whales migrate from their feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean to the Austral Islands, where they use the sheltered waters around Rurutu as a calving and nursing area. Observers there can document the whales’ natural behaviors with minimal disturbance.
The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) is the only pinniped endemic to Australia.
