Humpback Heaven! The humpback whales have been providing quite a show in Monterey Bay of late. This is actually fairly typical, lets look a little deeper... Whales, dolphins and porpoises are divided into two groups: toothed and baleen. Baleen whales, such as the humpback whales, have hundreds of comb-like plates with stiff bristles growing from the upper jaw. The baleen strains small food from huge mouthfuls of water. Famous for long, annual migrations, most baleen whales migrate to winter breeding grounds in the warm waters of low-latitudes and then move to summer feeding areas with cool water in the high-latitudes. Within the greater Monterey Bay you are likely to see several baleen whales: gray, blue, humpback, and minke. Peak times are during spring and summer because northwest winds push the surface water offshore, replacing it with nutrient rich cold water from greater depths. This upwelling fuels the growth of plankton which are the basis for the Bays rich marine food chain. The richest waters are centered along the submarine canyons that come close to shore. Humpbacks, when around, are particularly kind to whale watchers because they tend to feed in the same spot for several days and frequently perform fantastic aerial displays, such as breaching, or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads. They dive for schools of small fish such as anchovies and sardines and can eat as much as 3,000 pounds per day. Humpbacks often use a unique hunting method called bubble net feeding. A group of humpbacks swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The whales then swim quickly upward through the circle, and swallow thousands of fish in one gulp. This is called lunge feeding. In the 1970s, whale citings were few because their populations had been depleted due to world whaling practices. Thanks to anti-whaling laws that began in the 1940s, but were really given teeth in the US and internationally in the 1970s, many species have made a strong recovery. Gray whales have been taken off the endangered species list, while the numbers of humpback and blue whales have increased. Go whales! Like the content? Please like our page and check out our mobile AppTours that feature the natural and human history of the Santa Cruz coast. One of which is free! mobileranger.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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