Gigantic loggerhead sea turtles square off menacingly in mating territory rivalry

Loggerhead sea turtles are gigantic and powerful animals that can reach weights of up to 450kg (1,000lbs). They can grow large enough to completely fill the passenger area of a small car. They have extremely strong jaws that are designed for pulverizing fully grown conch shells to get at the meat inside. Despite being gentle creatures that present no danger to scuba divers, their incredible strength and size are respected and they are given proper respect.
Experienced divers are wary of Loggerhead sea turtles during their mating season. Full of hormones and territorial drive, they are a little more assertive with people and with other turtles. Knowing that their bit could crush or sever a limb, no sensible diver would ever antagonize a large male loggerhead, especially during May and June in the Caribbean.
Nito Vasquez, known in the scuba diving world as "Big Sexy" knows this as well as anyone. He was leading a group of the reef in Belize when he came across a rare sight. These two large males encountered each other during breeding season. They were circling each other menacingly, each sizing the other one up. Their body language told Nito a very interesting story about what was happening here.
The slightly larger male with the most barnacles maintains a face-on approach to the rival male. This is a dominant behaviour and it means he will bite the challenger if given the chance. The rival male carefully keeps his shell facing the dominant turtle. This is submissive and indicates a desire to avoid a physical conflict.
Another interesting thing is that the rival keeps his tail tucked in. Male turtles' genitals are inside the tail and displaying the tail is a sign of dominance and superiority. The larger turtle proudly displays his throughout the encounter. As the challenger leaves the area, the dominant male turns his attention to Nito and comes straight toward him. He turns and gives Nito a close look at his male equipment in what can only be interpreted as a visual display of his dominance. Nito wisely maintains a non threatening position and waits for the turtle to see that he is not a rival male Loggerhead.