Whale Watching off the coast of California

Whales can be spotted in most oceans of the world, as they migrate across the oceans, the endangered species of Blue Whale as well as the humpback can be spotted along the California central coast around Monetrey and Big Sur

One of the most watched animals that come into the area are blue whales. The whales migrate across the worlds oceans and during summer and fall they can be spotted off the central California coast.

The blue whale is the largest mammal on the planet with the largest reaching over 100 feet. The avarage adult blue whale is 70 to 90 feet and weighs between 100 to 150 tons. During the whales feeding seasons, the whales consume one to two tons of krill daily.

At the turn of the 1900’s, blue whales were abundant and found in most of the worlds oceans. The whaling industry of the early and mid part of that century almost annihilated the species. Today, there are fewer than 10,00 blue whales in existence. Records from the 1930’s show almost 30,000 whales killed in one year alone, that’s 3 times today’s population. One also wonders what the actual “unrecorded” numbers may have been. By 1966, Blue whales were so scarce that they put them on the endangered species list, where they remain today.

A Blue whale calf takes 10 years to reach maturity, couple that  with environmental issues, diminishing food supply and whaling, you can see why this great species is fighting for survival.

Below is a Humpback, another giant whale that can be seen off the central California coast.

From Wikipedia…

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a Baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (40–50 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb). The humpbacks are smaller than the giant Blue whale above, but still a giant of the ocean.

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the water. Males produce a complex whale song, which lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and is repeated for hours at a time. The purpose of the song is not yet clear, although it appears to have a role in mating.

Found in oceans and seas all around the world, humpback whales migrate up to many thousands of miles yearly. Like other species of whales, they travel between polar and tropical waters on different sides of the globe.

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. The species’ diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Due to over-hunting, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a whaling moratorium was introduced in 1966. Stocks of the species have since partially recovered; however, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution also remain concerns. There are at least 80,000 humpback whales worldwide. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpbacks are now sought out by whale-watchers, particularly off parts of Australia and the United States.