Tag: blue whales

Planet’s largest creatures begin to appear off Southern California

As blue whales begin to show off Southern California, a well-known photographer has shared a 2016 drone image that reveals the immense size of the planet’s largest creatures.

As blue whales begin to show off Southern California, a well-known photographer has shared a 2016 drone image that reveals the immense size of the planet’s largest creatures.

The accompanying image, captured by Mark Girardeau for Newport Whales, shows a blue whale dwarfing a large passenger vessel.

“The boat pictured is called Nautilus and is 72’ long,” Girardeau explained on Instagram. “That must mean the whale is like 140’ long right?

“Actually, the largest blue whale ever documented off California is around 90’ but due to the perspective of the photo, the whale just appears larger…. In this photo, there were about 85 [people] onboard and the whale is likely around 80’ long.”

Endangered blue whales, which number between 10,000 and 25,000 globally, can weigh more than 200 tons. They’re larger than all known dinosaurs.

They migrate into California waters beginning in late spring or early summer and spend several months, venturing as far north as Alaska, gorging on shrimp-like krill. (A single whale can devour more than 4 tons of krill per day.)

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Girardeau’s image provides a unique perspective because people on boats typically see only small portions of blue whales as they surface to breathe.

This week, first-of-season blue whale sightings were logged by Legacy Whale Watch in San Diego, and San Diego Whale Watch.

“We started our adventure heading straight west from Mission Bay as we had heard whispers of something big waiting out there for us,” San Diego Whale Watch reported Friday via Facebook. “We were quickly rewarded by sighting not just one – but three blue whales!”

Also on Friday, a blue whale was spotted off Point Vicente in Los Angeles County, by volunteers with the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.

The blue whale season for whale-watching operations in Southern California coincides with the waning weeks of the northbound gray whale migration.

Largest animals on earth shown ‘racing’ at high speed

Blue whales are the largest creatures on the planet and can weigh more than 150 tons, so only rarely are the great leviathans observed traveling at high speeds.

Blue whales are the largest creatures on the planet and can weigh more than 150 tons, so only rarely are the great leviathans observed traveling at high speeds.

But on Monday off Dana Point, Ca., boaters were in awe as at least three blue whales, perhaps feeling amorous, exhibited racing behavior in a spectacle described by one naturalist as “one for the record books.”

The accompanying video footage was captured by Capt. Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching. The images were captured by Laura Lopez for Dana Wharf Whale Watch.

In the video, three blue whales are shown interacting in what might be courtship behavior: “Possibly two males competing for the attention of the female,” Capt. Dave’s wrote.

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There appears to have been physical contact and, at times, the whales were clocked at 15 knots, or just above 17 mph.

It’s remarkable, considering that blue whale sightings typically involve slow and predictable movements as the mammals, which can measure 100 feet, surface to breath and sometimes reveal tail flukes as they begin to dive.

Dana Wharf Whale Watch posted 21 images to Facebook late Monday, and early Tuesday posted video showing more action. Lopez described the behaviors:

“On our first 2 trips, we saw groups of 4 Blue Whales often swimming very close together ~ side by side, rolling [and] displaying ventral pleats, pectoral fins and tails, simultaneous high chin slaps while racing across the water at high speeds.

“Other times, they seemed to be following in a line up all bursting the water’s surface together. One or two whales would separate from the group and then rejoin. These behaviors indicate the whales could likely be engaged in courtship.”

Blue whales, an endangered species, are found globally and number about 15,000 animals.

A lot remains unknown regarding breeding areas and patterns, but blue whales typically give birth in tropical or subtropical waters. A newborn blue whale calf weighs approximately 4,000 pounds.

Watch: Blue whale ‘explodes out of the sea like a submarine’

An eco-tourism operator in Mexico recently captured rare footage showing blue whales breaking the surface while racing side by side in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.

An eco-tourism operator in Mexico recently captured rare footage showing blue whales breaking the surface while racing side by side in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.

Blue whales, which can measure 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons, are the largest creatures to have inhabited the planet. Though swift and powerful, they’re not often observed exhibiting such high-energy behavior.

“We were all stunned and excited, and knew what we were seeing was exceptionally rare,” Charlie Harmer, owner of Silver Shark Adventures, said of the mid-February encounter. “I still can’t believe it.”

On Friday, Harmer published another clip from the same day, showing a single blue whale in slow motion, breaching at 20 mph against a Baja California desert backdrop. (Video posted below.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMn24fgBCCi/

His Instagram introduction reads, ”A blue whale, the largest animal species on earth, exploding out of the sea like a submarine.”

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An apt description of a scene that reveals the immense power and majesty of a sleek mammal designed for seemingly effortless propulsion.

The footage was captured off Bahia de los Angeles, a vast biosphere reserve on Baja California’s eastern shore, about 400 miles from Southern California.

Harmer, whose company keeps a boat in the bay for seven-day adventures, said the two blue whales measured about 80 feet. The behavior might have been part of courtship, or merely competition.

Rare synchronized blue whale ‘breach’ leaves boaters stunned

The mere sight of blue whales swimming near the surface can take a person’s breath away. But to watch the massive leviathans swim at high speed and breach like dolphins?

The mere sight of blue whales swimming near the surface can take a person’s breath away. But to watch the massive cetaceans race alongside the boat and break the surface like dolphins?

“We were all stunned and excited, and knew what we were seeing was exceptionally rare,” Charlie Harmer, owner of Silver Shark Adventures, told For The Win Outdoors. “I still can’t believe it.”

Harmer’s crew captured the accompanying footage last Monday in Bahia de los Angeles in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. It shows two blue whales racing side by side at 20 mph and porpoising as three passengers, Harmer, and his captain watched in awe.

“I still can’t believe it,” Harmer said.

Blue whales are the largest animals ever to have inhabited the planet. They can measure 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons. They’re rarely observed engaging in racing behavior, which could involve courtship or merely competition.

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Silver Shark Adventures posted the clip to Facebook, inspiring dozens of comments, including this from California-based whale researcher, Alisa Schulman-Janiger:

“We saw this same rare behavior off of Santa Cruz Island in Southern California a few months ago; I have seen this less than a dozen times over 40 years.”

Harmer told For The Win Outdoors that the whales measured about 80 feet  and the encounter lasted 20 minutes.

His company moors a boat in Bahia de los Angeles year-round and most clients drive from Southern California, 400 miles down the Baja California peninsula, for seven-day adventures.

The vast bay and its many islands are protected as a biosphere reserve. Its nutrient-rich waters teem with life.

States Harmer on the Silver Shark Adventures website: “My dream is to give our guests the feeling they have experienced something that is truly ‘once in a lifetime.’  Something to check off their ‘bucket list.’

–Images courtesy of Silver Shark Adventures