Gray whale 2012

buenos dias !

THE GRAY WHALE text and photography by robert perry (unless otherwise cited)

It’s a grAy whale, not a grEy whale…

In the United States the spelling of the color is “gray”. In other parts of the world it is spelled “grey”. The international community has accepted the American spelling for the whale’s common name so it is the gray whale with an “a”, not an “e”. http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/eastern_pacific_gray_whale

Eschrichtius robustus John Edward Gray placed it in its own genus, Eschrichtius, in 1865, naming it in honour of zoologist Daniel Eschricht. The species name, robustus, means robust, or strong.

Newborns = 4.9 m (16-ft.) Males =13 m (43 ft.)

Females =14.1 m (46 ft.) Maximum length = 15 m(49 ft.)

FEMALES ARE LARGER THAN MALES IN ALL BALEEN WHALES !

Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Mexico City. Photo: Charles Watlington. Š 2010 Gabriel Orozco

http://www.docstoc.com

VENTRAL VIEW http://portofcoupeville.org/

2

1

All Mysticete (baleen) whales have 2 blow holes.

All Odondocete (toothed) whales have one.

Charles M. Scammon, The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North America

ROBERT B. PERRY malibu high school

Eye to eye.

3 to 5 breaths, then 3 to 5 minute down time.

How to tell the difference?

oceanic front

footprint

warmer

colder

why

WHY DO GRAY WHALES BREACH ?

1- remove parasites 2- communication 3- take a look around topside 4- because it is fun

What is the purpose of a dorsal fin?

Stability against rolling.

ŠFlip Nicklin http://smithsonianscience.org/

GRAY WHALE BOTTOM FEEDING

LINK:

http://www.arkive.org/gray-whale/eschrichtius-robustus/video-08a.html

The Gray Whale, Jones, Schwartz, Leatherwood

TYPICAL

Chukchi Sea Siberia Alaska Area of greatest historic feeding activity.

Bering Sea

Unimak Pass N. Pacific Ocean

http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/scifocus/oceanColor/bering_sea.shtml

ATYPICAL GRAY WHALE FEEDING: LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJtG4HwhQDg&feature=player_embedded

burp

http://pugetsound.org

http://www.pwlf.org/graywhale/GW%20baleen%20-%20A.jpg

Ampelisca sp

outside edge

inside edge

Single baleen plate from Gray Whale. (from the collection of R.Perry)

countercog.blogspot.com

METHOD FOR REMOVING DEAD WHALES FROM YOUR BEACH:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUctxmz3zOY (LINK)

Sonar images of trenches made in sediments by Gray Whales feeding in the Bering Sea. Both images: http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/whales/

http://cires.colorado.edu/~aslater/BARROW/

Bering Sea + Chukchi Sea : Feeding grounds frozen in the Winter.

 n a M 1

 s y ra G 2

The guys at Zuma get a visit.

Surfing Gray Whale.

LIKE MOST MARINE MAMMALS, GRAY WHALES LOVE TO PLAY WITH GIANT KELP (Macrocystis)

WHY ?

.

ONE HYPOTHESIS IS THAT GRAYS HAVE NO HANDS OR FINGERS SO THEY USE KELP TO REMOVE SURFACE PARASITES AND “SCRATCH” THEIR “ITCH.”

ANOTHER HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THEIR SKIN IS VERY SENSITIVE AND LETTING THE KELP STIPES RUN ACROSS THEIR SKIN FEELS GOOD. FINALLY, IT COULD JUST AS WELL BE THAT GRAYS LIKE TO PLAY AROUND AND ARE HAVING A LOT OF FUN.

. Modern

whale watching vessel in operation

Thar she blows !

Body covered with barnacles and isopod crustaceans.

white Cryptolepas rachianecti

orange

Cyamus kessleri

ALL (ALMOST) BALEEN WHALES UNDERGO AN ANNUAL MIGRATION:

SUMMER = FEEDING GROUNDS

HIGH LATITUDES

WINTER = BREEDING GROUNDS

LOW LATITUDES

http://www.acs-la.org/GWCensus.htm

ANNUAL MIGRATION

Alaska Bering Sea

Canada

10,000 to 12,000 miles

Unimak Pass

California

Channel Islands Baja lagoons http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/coast/animals/gray_whale.html

(round trip)

USUALLY TRAVELS WITHIN 25 mi OF THE COAST

Southbound whales take the outside route which is more direct, and faster with a “push” from the California Current. http://condorcruises.com/whale-watching.cfm/whale_watching/winter.cfm

Northbound whales take the inside route which avoids Orcas, and faster with a “push” from the Calif. Counter-Current.

Ojo de Liebre (Scammon’s Lagoon)

San Ignacio

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/gwhale/AnnualWtr.html

Gray Whales migrate to Baja Calif calving and _________. mating for _________

Magdalena

Baja California Sur

Scammon’s Lagoon

“Friendly” whales in the lagoons.

Evaporative sea salt.

More sea salt.

Sea salt industry.

A young whale shows its baleen.

FRIENDLY WHALES OF BAJA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0gvLQGzgjo&feature=related

Another friendly whale meets the people.

SOME GENERAL GRAY WHALE BEHAVIORS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA9-pl33K7E

THE JOURNEY NORTH: DIFFERENTIAL MIGRATION AMONG GRAY WHALE SUB-GROUPS

1.

2.

3.

Alter, Rynes and Palumbi - Stanford University

http://www.stanford.edu/group/Palumbi/PNAS/LenfestRS.pdf

Easy to hunt ‘em: 1

-- Big spouts.

2

-- Close to shore.

Clueless kayak paddles right over a Gray Whale.

Orca cow and calf Attack a Gray cow and calf.

Birthing lagoons travel close to shore _______________and __________________are evolutionary adaptations that help prevent Orca attacks.

Cow lifts calf up on her back to avoid Orcas.

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqRzdpd3tAs&feature=related

What potential impacts are faced by a coastal migrating species?

http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt7t1nb2f7&query=&brand=calisphere

Historical Gray whaling in California . . .

Whaling stations existed at the following points on the California coast. Others were on the Lower California coast, most of which, if not all, marketed their products in San Francisco: Crescent City, Bolinas Bay, Halfmoon Bay, Pigeon Point, Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay (2. stations), Carmel Bay, Point Sur, San Simeon, Port Harford (or San Luis Obispo), Cojo Viego (Point Conception), Goleta, Portuguese Bend (San Pedro), Dead Man's Island (San Pedro), San Diego Bay (2 stations).

http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt7t1nb2f7&query=&brand=calisphere

http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt7t1nb2f7&query=&brand=calisphere

“Between 20 and 35% of all whales found dead show cuts and blunt trauma consistent ship strike with a__________.” http://www.peer.org

http://www.conservationreport.com

http://www.peer.org

2007: Members of the Makah tribe in Washington State killed a Gray whale to celebrate their tribal ancestral customs. The whale was shot with a 50-cal machine gun then harpooned.

Source: above, Fox news.

Left: http://www.campaign-whale.org

A nearly newborn Gray washed up on Will Rodgers beach.

WHAT CAN

YOU DO TO HELP THE GRAYS?

1-Help prevent ship strikes:

SUPPORT COMMERCIAL SHIPPING ROUTES THAT AVOID WHALE GROUNDS. and

2-Keep their environment clean:

A dead 37-foot Gray Whale on the beach near West Seattle in 2010 was examined and this was found in the stomach: a piece of plastic. A length of rope, a golf ball, a plastic bag, a piece of cloth. Another piece of plastic, more cloth. Duct tape. A towel. Electrical tape. Fishing line. More rope. A surgical glove. Plastic funnel. More plastic bags. A huge piece of fabric (it was half a pair of sweatpants).

http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/WSeattle-ER.htm

3- Support sanctions commercial whaling. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/images/0616-03.jpg

4- Help prevent entanglements: conservationists and government agencies are working to prevent entanglements through modifying gear and closing some areas to fishing when whales are present.

Donde estan las ballenas?

?