This is a short explaination of some of the whales that can be seen around San Diego. By far the most common is the California Gray Whale seen during it annual migration down the west coast from Alaska to Baja, Mexico. There are however several other types of whales around our area as well. Much of the following is taken from the American Cetacean Society.

California Gray Whales - Whale watching in the Winter

The Gray Whales can reach a length of 52ft, a weight of 36 tons and an age of 60 years.  The California Gray Whale for as large as they seem to us, is really just a mid size whale. They get their name both from the gray slate color of their skin as well as from the gray-white patterns left by parasites.

The California Gray Whale is classified as a baleen whale The baleen whales are toothless. They filter small animals such as plankton out of the water by means of forcing water through a substance called baleen. It is make of a similiar material to your fingernails, but looks more hair like. The water moves through this substance, but the amimals get trapped.

They eat about 2000lbs of food each day. because it filters its food out from large quantities of sea water. It feeds on small crustaceans from the ocean bottom that it dislodges by rolling on it side. It them swallows the surroundsing water and filters the nutrients out.

The gray whale has no dorsel (top) fin, but does have a dorsal hump about 2/3 of the way back on its body followed by a series of 6-12 knuckles along the dorsal ridge that extend to the flukes.

Gray whales reach sexual maturity sometime after 5 years of age. Their gustation period is around 12 months and after birth calves nurse 7-8 months on milk that is 53% fat (human milk is 2% fat). One calf is born per mother every couple years.

Breathing patterns are generally blowing 3-5 times in 15-30 second intervals before raising its fluke and submerging for 3-5 minutes. A gray whale can stay submerged up to 15 minutes.

Blue Whales

The Blue Whales are probably the largest animal to have ever lived on the planet - they are 70 to 100 feet in length, can weigh over 100 tons and have a

distinctly blue color. They are also very fast swimmers and can swim at 30 knots if they choose.

It is strange that the largest animal on the planet eat almost exclusively small, shrimp-like creatures called krill - about 4 tons of them each day when feeding. Since these whale are baleen whales they filter the krill out from massive amounts of water.

They reach sexual maturity at a similar age to the gray whales and have a slightly shorter gestation period. During nursing (a period of about 7 months) the calf consumes 100 gallons of milk a day and gains about 200lbs/day in weight.

Today there are about 15,000 blue whales which is less than 5% of their pre-whaling population. They are found in all oceans of the world.

Orca (Killer Whales - Shamou)

Most people are familiar with Orca Killer Whales becausee of Sea Worlds's Shamou. They are about 30 feet in lenght and have a very distinctive dorsel fin which is several feet tall.

They have teeth and feed on a variety of animals such as fish, porpoises and seals.

Orcas do migrate, but not on fixed routes and tend instead to follow food supplies. They have no natural enemies but are having health issues because of chemicals in the other animals which they consume. Their populations are worldwide.

Orcas seem to have no fixed breeding season as calfs are observed throught the year. They reach maturity much later than other whale species, not until 10 to 18 years of age.

Interestingly the sounds of each Orca pod are unique.

There are Orca whales off Catalina, but we have not heard of them close

Finback Whale

They are second to the gray whale in size measuring in at around 80 feet with a weight of aroudn 60 tons. They are long and sleek and like the gray whale are fast swimmers. Being also a baleen whale they coral fish in tight circles before engulfing them.

The reproductive data is about the same as the other whales but they only breed each 3 - 4 years. They are found in all oceans of the world and migrate. Their populations is about 40,000 - a small percentage of their origional population.

Humpback Whale

Humpbacks whales measure around 45ft in length and weigh about 40 tons. They are more rotund and not as sleek as some of the other whales mentioned. The upper part of their body is black with the underside being white or mottled.

They are know best for 2 traits. First they are very acrobatic and exhibit behaviors like breaching or swimming on their back. The second trait is that of their song. The males sing songs that last for approximately 15 minutes that may repeat for hours at a time.

They feed on krill or small fish and filter it using baleen - eating up to 1.5 tons of food each year. These whales are found in all the worlds oceans. Their populatios is around 35,000 - about 1/3 of their origional population. Interesting video from Whale Trust regarding Humpbacks Whales

 

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