Rowan Dear, Cuttlefish Mating Season (ANIMAL 2024)

Each year thousands of giant cuttlefish converge on the shores of Whyalla, South Australia for the annual mating season. With 10 males to 1 female, competition is fierce for the females, which means fighting between rival males ensues. These images show a lone male cuttlefish squirting ink at a rival male, two male cuttlefish battling it out by making themselves as big and colourful as possible, and finally a male and female mating face to face whilst another male lurks in the background hoping for his chance.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.