Scientist say that this is unnormal around this time of the year. Gray whales normally mate tropical lagoons of Baja California around winter, then migrate towards the north to chilly polar waters to feed on shrimp-like prey that come to the surface of the water during the spring and summer time. After, they return to Mexico the following winter to give birth in the lagoons in order to keep them safe from sharks and orcas.
But the small calf that is with its mother in the Bay Area, is a new born. The new born is about 15 feet, meaning that she recently just had birth on her way towards Mexico. "We're seeing more and more calves born before they get all the way down to Mexico," said Wayne Perryman, leader of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Researchers have been looking into the changes in the feeding and migration patterns. Some of these changes are due to climate change, while in other cases its linked to the recovery of the species from overhunting.
Mr. Perryman said that grey whales are leaving polar waters later compared to when they left back 15 to 20 years ago. As ice sheets move more northward, it might take longer for the whales to reach their food before they turn south again. Or, its because they are not able to find enough food in time to keep the traditional schedule. He also talks about how the primary feeding grounds have shifted.
Some grey whales have been eating off the northern coast of California, meaning that they are eating different kinds of prey then they would in polar waters. However, the population has been relearning direct migration routes that were being forgotten when manny of the animals were killed by whalers.
The whales have learned to go towards the west, around the Channel Islands off of Southern California. But according to Mr. Harvey, the wayward mother in the bay was hugging the coast because she wanted to protect her baby from the predators when she accidentally followed the shoreline into San Francisco Bay.
“If you’re a female with a calf,” Mr. Harvey said, “the best thing to do is swim really close to the coastline.”
1 comment:
When I read this post, I immediately thought of Humphry the Whale; a Humpback whale who also swam into the San Francisco Bay a couple decades ago. I'm no expert on whales, but I would guess that whales swimming into the SF Bay are not common occurrences.
At first, I thought this story was just a little anecdote about a few lost whales. But after reading the entire post, I'm fairly certain that this whale accident is connected to a much larger, worldwide issue--Global warming.
Everyone knows the generalities of global warming; temperatures rising, ice caps melting, messed up weather patterns, etc. However, I don't think many people realize the magnitude of the environmental state global warming is inducing. I doubt the average Joe cares much about the changing migratory patterns of whales, but it's not really the whales themselves that are significant in this story; it's the larger indication of the magnitude of global changes global warming is causing. Who knows how this change in whale behavior will affect the ocean ecosystems.
For me, this whale incident is just a sad reminder of the ongoing pollution that degrades the earth every day.
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