|
Whales of Baja
We design our wilderness
adventures to provide you with the best whale encounters imaginable. Baja
California is a whale-watchers' paradise. There are few other places that
harbor such a concentration and diversity of whales. The islands of Loreto
National Marine Park, located in the Sea of Cortez, are home for 6 different
species of whales including Blue, Fin, Sei, Humpback, Bryde's and Pilot whales.
Magdalena Bay is the world-renowned winter nursery grounds of the Gray whale.
Your guides will give entertaining, informative presentations on whale natural
history. Trips also carry an extensive library with books on whales.
Here are the most common
whales and dolphins you will likely see on your tour with Sea Kayak
Adventures.
California Gray
Whale
Eschrichtius robustus
 |
California Gray Whale
Eschrichtius robustus graywhalehead72.jpg "Whale calf lifts its head out of
Baja's Magdalena Bay to watch whale watchers." Since whaling was banned in
1946, the California Gray Whale population has rebounded from near extinction
to a population that has been estimated to be as high as 27,000. Gray whales
are a symbol of hope for the world's endangered species. Each February and
early March, one can experience the whales and their newly-born calves
surfacing just a few feet away from a motorized skiff, and if you're lucky, a
curious whale will gently approach.
|
- The Gray Whale has the longest migration of any mammal,
typically exceeding a 10,000 annual round trip between their summer Arctic
feeding grounds and the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. They travel very
near shore during the migration.
- Gray Whales give birth exclusively in 3 Mexican lagoons
(on the Baja California peninsula's west coast) during the winter months.
Calves are 15 feet long at birth and weigh 1500 pounds. Calves nurse on milk
that is 53% fat (human milk is 2% fat).
- Adults are 45 feet long and weigh 30 tons. The gray
whale has no dorsal fin. It has a series of knuckles along the dorsal ridge
that extend to the fluke (tail). Their mottled gray and white appearance is due
to patches of barnacles and whale lice on its dark skin.
- The lifespan is typically 30 to 40 years but some have
lived to the age of sixty.
- Gray Whales typically feed off the bottom of the Bering
and Chukchi seas in the north each summer by scooping up the sediment and
filtering it along with small crustaceans through its sieve-like baleen
structure on the roof of its mouth. Baleen consists of the same material as
your fingernails (keratin) and was the "whalebone" used in 19th century
corsets.
- Once Gray Whales roamed both sides of the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. Nineteenth century whaling destroyed the Atlantic and Korean
Gray Whale population and twice nearly exterminated the California Gray Whales.
Since International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed in
1946, the Gray Whale population has returned to near its pre-whale hunting
level.
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
 |
The blue whale is an
enormous animal, larger than any dinosaur that lived on the earth. We are
humbled in their presence not only because of their great size, but because we
know so little about them. To encounter a blue whale is the pinnacle of the
whale-watching experience. It is simply the greatest of the great whales. From
January through April look for spectacular sightings of blue whales in the
warm, calm waters near Loreto on our Sea of Cortez Islands
tours. |
- The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on
earth. They can reach up to 100 feet (33 meters) in length and weigh more than
150 tons. A small child could crawl inside the artery of a blue whale, and its
heart is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Their brain weighs 4,500 grams (10
lbs). 24 elephants equal 1 blue whale.
- The blow is tall and straight and over 25 feet (8
meters) high (the tallest blow of any whale).
- Like other rorquals, they have ventral pleats running
from the tip of the lower jaw back to the belly, and a small (1 foot high)
sickle-shaped dorsal fin on their back. The blue whale is blue-gray in
color.
- The blue whale feeds almost exclusively on small,
shrimp-like creatures called krill that swarm in huge clouds in the upper water
column. During the summer feeding season the blue whale gorges itself,
consuming an astounding 4 tons or more each day. As a baleen whale, it has a
series of fringed overlapping plates hanging from each side of the upper jaw.
Baleen consists of the same material as your fingernails (keratin) and was the
"whalebone" used in 19th century corsets. During feeding, large volumes of
water and food can be taken into the mouth because the pleated grooves in the
throat expand. As the mouth closes water is expelled through the baleen plates,
which trap the food on the inside near the tongue to be swallowed.
- Calves are 23 to 27 feet long at birth and 3 tons.
During the nursing period of 7 - 8 months, calves consume 100 gallons of the
fat-rich milk each day and gain 200 pounds per day.
- The blue whale makes deep and low-frequency sounds
that travel long distances through water, allowing blue whales to communicate
with each other over hundreds of miles of ocean. This is the most powerful
sound produced in the animal kingdom.
- Blue whales remain on the surface of the water an
average of 8 to 10 blows prior a dive which can be as long as 20 minutes. They
usually cruise along at about 12 mph (19 km/hr), but can sustain speeds of 30
mph (48 km/hr) if frightened or chased. The blue whale lifts its tail fluke out
of the water on its dives. Its broad and triangular flukes resemble the tail
section of a 747.
- Blue whales migrate to high latitudes during the
summer and to tropical-to-temperate waters during winter months to mate and
give birth to calves. They can feed throughout their range.
- Up to 99% of blue whales were killed during whaling
efforts in the first half of the 20th century. Presently, there are an
estimated 3-4,000 blue whales in the Northern Hemisphere.
Fin
Whale
Balaenoptera physalus
 |
The fin, or finback
whale is second only to the blue whale in size and weight. It is one of the
rorquals, a family that includes whales with a dorsal fin and throat grooves
that expand when the animal is feeding. Fin whales are among the fastest of the
great whales, leading to its description as the "greyhound of the sea". From
December through May you can see resident fin whales on our Sea of Cortez
Islands tours. |
- Fin whales, although smaller than the blue whale, can
still reach a length of 80 feet and weigh 70 tons. It has darker skin and a
larger dorsal fin than the blue whale.
- Unlike blue whales, fin whales do not fluke (lift
their tail out of the water) when they dive. The fin whale's blow is tall and
shaped like an inverted cone, and the dive sequence is 5-8 blows approximately
70 seconds apart before a long dive. They can dive to a depth of 1,800 feet
(550 meters).
- Fin whales feed mainly on small, shrimp-like creatures
called krill and schooling fish. They have been observed circling schools of
fish at high speed, rolling the fish into compact balls then rolling on their
side to engulf the fish. They can consume up to 2 tons of food a day. As a
baleen whale, it has a series of fringed overlapping plates hanging from each
side of the upper jaw, where teeth might otherwise be located. These plates
consists of a fingernail-like material called keratin that frays out into fine
hairs on the ends inside the mouth near the tongue. During feeding, large
volumes of water and food can be taken into the mouth because the pleated
grooves in the throat expand. As the mouth closes water is expelled through the
baleen plates, which trap the food on the inside near the tongue to be
swallowed.
- Fin whales migrate to subtropical waters for mating
and calving during the winter months and, to the colder areas of the Arctic for
feeding during the summer months. Like blue whales, they produce powerful
sounds that can carry vast distances in the water.
- As blue whales became depleted in the first half of
the 20th century, whalers turned to hunting fin whales until the whales were
placed under full protection in 1966. Presently, there are an estimated 40,000
fin whales in the Northern Hemisphere.
Common
Dolphin
Delphinus delphis
 |
Dolphins are frequent
companions on our kayak trips. They often travel in herds of over 100
individuals engaging in exuberant displays of aerial acrobatics. They are
extremely active and fast moving. You can see dolphins anytime on our kayak
tours in the Sea of Cortez and Magdalena Bay. |
- Common dolphins can reach lengths of 8 feet (2.5 m)
and weigh as much as 297 pounds (135 kg). They have dark-colored skin on the
back and light gray flanks forming an hourglass pattern. The dorsal fin is
triangular and slightly curved.
- Dolphins feed on squid and small schooling fish. They
have been seen working together to herd fish into tight balls.
- The common dolphin is found in all tropical and
warm-temperate waters, often near the coast. They are noted for riding bow and
stern waves of fast moving boats and even large whales.
- In the past 20 years, hundreds of thousands of common
dolphins have been taken incidentally in purse seine nets used during tuna
fishing operations in the eastern tropical Pacific. Some common dolphins are
taken in Japan and Peru for human consumption.
 |
