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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Whales


The entire Gray Whale population migrates past the Monterey coastline every winter and spring. These whales have one of the longest animal migrations known, traveling over 12,000 miles from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California and back again. Gray Whales have come back from the brink of extinction and now number over 25,000 individuals and have recently been taken off the endangered species list. Gray Whales are easily observed as they hug the coastline during migration.

Gray Whales are present off Monterey from December through May. Off Monterey, Gray Whales migrate south from December through mid February, with peak numbers occurring during mid January. Whales migrate north from mid February through May, peaking during mid March. Most adult and juvenile whales pass Monterey on their way to Alaska by mid April. Mother gray whales with their newly born calves pass Monterey during April and May. The mother/calf pairs are most susceptible to Killer Whale attacks in the Bay during this period.
many whales can be seen off the coast of California Monterey Bay is the best place along the California coast to observe gray whales. Since the shallow continental shelf does not extend very far from shore off Monterey due to the near shore submarine canyon, Gray Whales can be found within a few miles of the coast in this region compared to 15 or more miles from shore off San Francisco.

Gray Whales reach lengths of 45', are generally gray in color with white mottling, and have many barnacles and whale lice embedded in their skin. They migrate slowly, at about 2-5 miles/hr, and generally blow 3-5 times before fluking up and diving for 2-7 minutes. During this migration they occasionally breach, spy hop, and mate with other Grays. They travel singly or in pods ranging from 2 to 10 whales.

Gray whales feed on small crustaceans such as amphipods, and tube worms found in bottom sediments. To feed, a whale dives to the bottom, rolls on its side and draws bottom sediments and water into its mouth. As it closes its mouth, water and sediments are expelled through the baleen plates, which trap the food on the inside near the tongue to be swallowed.
Blue Whales can be seen in Big Sur June through October, during times of abundant krill. You can often see Blue Whales from the roadside turnouts while in Big Sur.

It is difficult to imagine the size of the blue whale, the largest animal inhabiting the earth. There are records of individuals over 100 feet long, but 70-90 feet  is probably average. A good way to visualize their length is to remember that they are about as long as three school buses. An average weight for an adult is 200,000 to 300,000 pounds (100-150 tons). Its heart alone is as large as a small car.

Blue whales are an overall blue-gray color, mottled with light gray. Cold water diatoms adhere to their skin and sometimes give their bellies a yellowish tinge, giving the blue whale its nickname of "sulfur bottom." Blue whales are long and streamlined. Their dorsal fins are extremely small, and their pectoral flippers are long and thin.
A gray whale displaying his tail off the coast of California The Humpback Whale is an endangered species, occurring in all the world's oceans. The central California population of Humpback Whales migrates from their winter calving and mating areas off Mexico to their summer and fall feeding areas off coastal California. Humpback Whales occur in Monterey Bay from late April to early December. During this period the whales are here to feed on anchovies, sardines, and krill.

Humpbacks are acrobats of the ocean, breaching and slapping the water. They live in pods and have 2 blowholes. The name humpback describes the motion it makes as it arches its back out of the water in preparation for a dive. Humpback whales grow to be about 52 feet long, weighing 30-50 tons. The females are slightly larger than males, as with all baleen whales.

The four-chambered heart of the average humpback whale weighs about 430 pounds! Humpbacks come in 4 different color schemes, ranging from white to gray to black to mottled. An average-sized humpback whale will eat 4,400-5,500 pounds of plankton, krill and small, schooling fish each day during the feeding season in cold waters.
Humpback Whales are in Monterey Bay to feed and they often shift to various feeding locations depending on prey density. Humpbacks are often observed lunge feeding near the surface or deep diving for prey that is concentrated several hundred feet deep. This whale is the most animated of all the baleen whales, and in the Bay they are often seen breaching, spy-hopping, pectoral fin slapping, and tail lobbing.

Monterey Bay is one of the best places to observe humpbacks on a day's whale watch because the submarine canyon approaches very close to shore here. The whales are frequently found along the edges of the canyon where prey tends to concentrate. At times, the whales come even closer to shore while feeding on anchovies and can also be found 8-20 miles from shore where concentrations of krill occur in relation to thermal fronts.

Current population estimates for Humpback Whales off California conducted by Cascadia Research Collective indicate there are about 800 whales in this population.
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