Today's Image

The fish are biting

Posted by

Claudia Crowley

and

June 20, 2019

Underwater scene of large, big-jawed trout biting another. — John Ashley – who has contributed many wonderful sky photos to EarthSky – took this underwater photo May 31, 2019. He wrote: “Two female Westslope cutthroat trout argue over a favorite location.”

Orange-red fish, viewed front on, spotted, large jaw and eyes, tail visible. — Here’s another May 31 photo by John Ashley. He wrote: “A female Westslope cutthroat trout tail-slaps another in a disagreement over a favorite area.” These fish, by the way, are the official state fish for Montana.

Side view of fsh with big jaw and eye, tiny gray spots and purple gills. — John Ashley wrote of this May 31, 2019, photo: “A Westslope cutthroat trout floats motionless in a calm pool on a Montana spawning stream.”

Bottom line: Photos of spawning Westslope cutthroat trout. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) was petitioned to list the Westslope cutthroat trout under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. In 2000, the FWS determined that listing the Westslope cutthroat trout was not warranted because of its wide distribution and the available habitat on public lands. Conservation efforts by state and federal agencies are currently underway to restore Westslope cutthroat trout. Read more.

X Facebook Pinterest Buffer

Posted

June 20, 2019

in

Today's Image

Claudia Crowley

View Articles

About the Author:

Claudia Crowley proofs and edits EarthSky website material. She says working for EarthSky is the most exciting job she's had except one other - which was editing space shuttle documentation at NASA JSC. After writing and editing manuals for Dell and other major companies, she moved to the technical support side during the wild early days of the Internet, and served as general manager at a small wireless ISP. Claudia is a space enthusiast and fan of science.