Pete Thomas Outdoors

North Pacific right whales likely spotted off San Miguel Island

Drawing via Wikipedia

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

The probable sighting of North Pacific right whales off California's San Miguel Island during the past several days had researchers scrambling Wednesday to board a boat or plane and try to spot and photograph the endangered mammals.

The estimated population for the Northeast Pacific sub-population of these whales is only about 50 individuals, so sightings are exceedingly rare. (The western sub-population off Japan numbers in the low hundreds.)

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the North Pacific right whale is the most endangered whale species on earth.
Sightings at San Miguel Island, within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, occurred on multiple days between February 2 and 14, by a shore-based NOAA researcher studying pinnipeds.

He did not have access to a boat and the whales–initially one whale, then two later in the period–were spotted two miles offshore and appeared to leave little doubt as to their identity.

They were robust and broad, mostly black, with no dorsal fins, and with very large, black tail flukes. (North Pacific right whales typically measure 50 to 60 feet.)

The researcher, perhaps because he was so far away and did not have photographic equipment to document the sightings, did not share his observations until leaving the island on Monday.

The Northeast Pacific sub-population typically summers in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.

Since 1925, there have been only 13 confirmed sightings off California.

In the pre-whaling era  there were believed to be about 20,000 North Pacific right whales.

Boaters who spot what might be North Pacific right whales are asked to try to photograph them, particularly the heads and flukes, for ID purposes, and contact NOAA Fisheries.

 

Rare white dolphin thrills boaters in Monterey Bay

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Whale watchers in Monterey Bay, California, were thrilled Sunday to see a strikingly white Risso’s dolphin swimming with gray pod mates.

The extraordinary sighting was made by passengers and crew aboard a Monterey Bay Whale Watch vessel. The accompanying photos were provided by naturalist Melissa Galieti, who said the young dolphin was swimming with its mother and two other cow-calf pairs.

The crew was not able to determine whether the dolphin was a true albino, with pink eyes, or a partial albino (leucistic, with blue eyes), because “this little one kept coming to the surface with its eyes closed,” Galieti stated on the company Facebook page.

Its body outline in some of the photos, however, is tinged pink.

Galieti added via email: “It also exhibited some play behaviors, like pec-fin slapping and rolling. All the guests were excited to see something so stunning.”

It’s the same white dolphin that was spotted in Monterey Bay on August 28, so it seems to be familiar with the area, and passengers undoubtedly are being told to be on the lookout for a white dolphin.

Risso’s dolphins are large, blunt-nosed mammals that usually stay fairly far offshore.

Their normal color is dark gray, but their bodies typically feature many scratches or scars, which are believed to be caused by other Risso’s dolphins, squid (their favorite prey), or parasites.

Calves tend to be a lighter gray. White Risso’s dolphins, like white whales, are extremely rare.

Related articles

Risso's dolphins appear to be herding gray whales like cattle

SUP paddler realizes dream during killer whale encounter

Gray whale megapods spotted off SoCal

Gray whale megapods highlight incredible SoCal voyage

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Passengers aboard a Southern California whale-watching boat on Sunday enjoyed a magical daylong excursion that included rare sightings of gray whale megapods, traveling south toward Baja California’s lagoons.

The first group contained more than 15 whales, swimming closely together. The pod, spotted at 10 a.m. between Dana Point and Santa Catalina Island, included at least three juveniles.

The second megapod, consisting of at least 12 gray whales, was spotted at 2:30 p.m., also in mid-channel, and was being harassed by Risso’s dolphins, which acted like cattle dogs guiding a herd. (This type of behavior, although not unprecedented, also is rarely observed.)

The sightings, made aboard the Ocean Adventures out of Dana Point, were chronicled by a group called the West Coast Whale Geeks, which chartered the Dana Wharf Whale Watching vessel for an 8-hour excursion that also featured sightings of bottnelose and common dolphins, and several other gray whales.

Photos, some of which accompany this story, reveal multiple blows and fluking; blows mixed with fluking, spy hopping, and other behavior. Aerial footage (posted above), captured via drone, shows the majesty and true size of the iconic cetaceans, which were once hunted to the brink of extinction.

“This is not a common thing,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a researcher who also was on the trip. “In all my years on the water I’ve never been with two megapods in one day.”

About 20,000 gray whales annually complete the 6,000-mile trek from Arctic feeding grounds to Baja California, where they nurse and mate, before returning home for the summer feeding season.

Sightings in coastal waters usually involve one or two mammals, or perhaps two or three. It’s rare to see groups of 10 or more, because adult gray whales, when they do travel in groups, tend to swim on a more direct offshore route to Mexico.

But this has been a very unusual season, with an earlier migration and more whales than usual appearing to take more of a coastal route, said Schulman-Janiger, who runs the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County.

Shore-based volunteers man a cliff-top promontory at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center from sunrise to sunset throughout the migration period, counting whales and logging their behavior.

Through Monday they had tallied 1,039 southbound gray whales, the fifth highest in the project’s 30-year-history.

“We’re seeing more large pods than we typically see, and up in Monterey they’re also reporting very large groups passing by,” Schulman-Janiger said. “We’re definitely seeing more this season. Maybe it’s just because they’re picking a route closer to shore.”

The southbound migration period is winding down, but sightings should continue for another week or two.

“We’re seeing more large pods than we typically see, and up in Monterey they’re also reporting very large groups passing by,” Schulman-Janiger said. “We’re seeing many more this season. They’re definitely early, and maybe also picking a route closer to shore.”

The southbound migration period is winding down, but sightings should continue for two or three more weeks.

–Images (top to bottom) are courtesy of @Alisa Schulman-Janiger, ©Carla Mitroff, ©Christina de la Fuente,  ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger, ©Alisa Schulman Janiger, ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger

Related articles

Curious orcas give boaters in dinghy the thrill of a lifetime

Dolphins join SUP paddlers in magical surf session

 

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Sharing waves with strangers is not any surfer’s idea of a good time, unless the strangers happen to be dolphins.

Ryan Warrington and Kyle Tatam were surfing on standup boards recently at an unnamed destination when dolphins arrived and not only rode waves with the SUP paddlers, but seemed to enjoy their human company.

The feeling, undoubtedly, was mutual.

“One of the most surreal days we’ve ever had in the water,” Warrington states in a description beneath the video, which is enhanced with a bit of "Jamaican Tea," via the New Black Shades, and takes viewers on a brief voyage through an aquamarine realm with sleek and beautiful cetaceans as escorts.

To be sure, this footage is different than the many clips circulating on the Internet, showing SUP paddlers trying to get close to whales or, more recently, paddling briefly among killer whales.

This is a case where the dolphins wanted to be with the paddlers, and vice versa, and the result was a magical session, at what looks to be a secret spot, enjoyed by both parties.

Many people are bound to be envious.

 

Related articles

Surfer's board snapped in two... by a shark?

Curious orcas give boaters in dinghy the thrill of a lifetime

Sea Shepherd encounters rare and mysterious Type D orcas

SUP paddler realizes dream during killer whale encounter

'An amazing scene' as humpback whale hits boat off Maui

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Whale watchers aboard a small boat off Maui watched with widening eyes recently as a humpback whale suddenly turned toward them, began to slap her large pectoral fin on the surface, and struck their inflatable boat with its head.

The collision with the 25-foot vessel was more of a shove than a strike, but blunt enough enough to “toss our boat a good five feet when she hit,” said Jennifer Nap, who videotaped the unusual incident while on the trip with her husband, Ryan.

About 10,000 endangered humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters for the winter breeding and nursing season.

The moment before impact; video screen grab

The Naps and their group were with Ultimate Whale Watch and had been following a mother and calf “from a safe distance,” Nap said, when the mother whale suddenly turned.

The crew shut the engines down as the whale “came straight for us, I think to warn us to move,” Nap said.

The calf had veered away from its mom, toward the vessel’s bow. The mom, still on her side and slapping her pectoral fin, glided into the boat as the passengers reacted with trepidation and joy.

“As soon as she was done pushing us aside she dove under, then popped right back up on the other side with her calf,” Nap said.

It remains unclear whether the bump was intentional. Flipper slapping is not typically used as a warning; a whale is more likely to violently slap its fluke, or tail fin, to signal its displeasure.

Plus, as researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger points out, humpback whales almost always trumpet blow to issue warnings, and no such sounds can be heard in the footage.

Lee James, CEO for Ultimate Whale Watch, said the female humpback was also distracted by a male escort who was nearby.

“It is most likely that this mom was distracted with her calf and keeping another eye on a escort that was being a little irritating for the female, as escorts can be,” James said. “We think she simply wasn't paying attention and bumped the boat, then carried on pec slapping like nothing happened.”

Researchers have stated on Facebook that this probably would not have occurred if the engines had been idling, because the noise would have let the whale know the boat was there.

In any event, the whale seemed to be OK and the passengers returned to port with lasting memories.

Said Nap: “An absolutely amazing scene.”

Curious orcas give boaters in dinghy the thrill of a lifetime

 

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

When Eric Martin, his son Cody, and David Lantos set out from the Southern California port of Redondo Beach in a 10-foot inflatable boat on Tuesday, they never imagined that they’d soon be surrounded by killer whales.

Or that the killer whales would develop a deep interest in their presence, and spend more than an hour mugging a boat so small that the Martins refer to it as “the bathtub.” (Mugging is when the mammals repeatedly swim up to a vessel.)

It was as close of an encounter with orcas as can be experienced in the wild without physical contact, an experience Cody, 18, described as “possibly the best moment of my life.”

The Martins and David Lantos try to keep their composure while documenting the close orca encounter; photo by ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger

This interaction occurred off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, involving four transient orcas cataloged as the CA51s, in such calm, clear water, that the trio was able to capture incredible footage from above and below the surface.

“It was an experience I’ll never forget,” said Eric Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium in Manhattan Beach. "And to be honest, I didn’t realize how small we looked” until he saw an image captured by researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger (image is atop this post).

Schulman-Janiger, who runs the California Killer Whale Project, was aboard the Triumphant, a whale-watching boat out of Long Beach. She said this “magical footage” was the best she had ever seen of killer whales off California.
The underwater footage is serene, showing several close approaches and revealing vocalizations as the orcas communicate with each other. The topside footage provides a human element and reveals the type of chaos associated with being mugged by orcas in a dinghy. It also includes strange "raspberry" sounds made by the orcas at the surface.

 

The CA51s are more commonly seen off Monterey, in Central California, but have visited Southern California for four consecutive years in January. The three previous sightings were on New Year’s Day.

This family group included CA51, or Star, the mother; CA51C, or Bumper (male); CA51B, or Orion (male), and CA51D, or Comet, a female, and at 4 years old the youngest of the group.

Like all transient orcas, the CA51s feed on other marine mammals, and during their Southern California visits they typically feed on California sea lions.

Orion the killer whale swims up for a visit; photo by ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger

This group is famously boat friendly, which made for a precarious situation when Martin first saw them as he approached the Palos Verdes Peninsula in his dinghy, after the initial sighting by shore-based volunteer spotters working for the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.

The orcas decided to investigate them as soon as they saw  the "bathtub" in the distance. Eric Martin killed the motor, wisely, and braced for their greeting. “We all thought they were just going to swim under the boat,” Martin said. “Little did I realize that the mother and Comet would decide to stop, face to face, just inches from David, who was holding the GoPro camera, and stare right at us.”

The orcas swam away briefly, and harassed some sea birds, before returning for more human interaction.

Cody, in disbelief, told his father, “I can’t believe I’m actually making eye contact with a killer whale.”

Said Eric, “Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, they started vocalizing. You could hear them even at the surface. It was an unforgettable experience.”

Perhaps it was for the orcas as well. They were last seen Thursday off Orange County, heading slowly to the northwest.

Related articles

Gray whale parade one for the record books

Gray whale sightings set records off Southern California

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Gray whales are being spotted in record numbers off Southern California, thanks to clear skies, a mostly calm ocean, lots of eyeballs on the water, and what appears to be an earlier migration period than normal.

What also stands out, besides the numerous blows wafting skyward from thousands of whales that are headed from Arctic feeding grounds to Mexican nursing grounds, are the babies!

The accompanying video footage was captured via drone by David Anderson, who runs Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safaris out of Dana Point in Orange County.

It provides a bird’s-eye view of a newborn gray whale clinging to mom’s side, learning how to time its surface breathing, and beginning its first of what could be many migratory journeys along the West Coast.

Gray whale with calf; photo by Slater Moore Photography

“Quite a pair,” Anderson says, fondly.

The extraordinary footage also shows a different mother and calf on their northbound journey, for the sake of comparison, revealing how much larger the babies are after they’ve spent three months nursing in Baja California’s lagoons.

Now about those record numbers.

Through Monday, the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, which uses volunteer spotters to count whales from the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, 504 southbound whales had been tallied.

That’s a record for a project that has been in place for 31 years, serving to document numbers and trends having to do with the migration.

Gray whale blows a rainbow; photo by Slater Moore Photography

The 504 southbound gray whales, though it represents only a portion of gray whales actually passing by, is higher than the entire season count for 11 of those 31 seasons. (The end of the migration period off Southern California is late May.)Alisa Schulman-Janiger, who runs the ASC-LA project, said the high number of whales points to an earlier start to the gray whale migration–a trend that has been evident for the past four years.

“Because they’re leaving earlier, we’re bound to have more by the same date so early in the season,” the researcher said, adding that this season’s December southbound count of 393 beat the previous season’s record southbound count of 364.

Gray whale with calf in the Santa Barbara Channel; photo by Robert Perry/Condor Express

Other factors are the weather: Fog, wind, and rain make detecting whales much more difficult. Also, it could be that, for whatever reason, more whales are migrating closer to shore, making them more visible to spotters and whale watchers.

Neither Schulman-Janiger nor Wayne Perryman, a NOAA scientist who studies the gray whale migration, could say precisely why the whales are leaving Arctic waters early, but clearly it has to do with ice cover and feeding conditions.

“Certainly it is linked to conditions in the Arctic, but I don't think anyone really knows what factors trigger migratory timing,” Perryman said.

Whatever the explanation, the early migration and near-perfect weather are helping commercial whale-watching operations log banner starts to their seasons.

For example, Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safaris logged counts of 13 gray whales on Saturday, five on Sunday, and six on Monday.

Dana Wharf Whale Watching, which also runs from Dana Point, logged 177 gray whale sightings through Monday, compared to 97 for the same period last season.

As for the babies, the ACS-LA project tallied 12 cow-calf pairs through Monday. That’s second only to 19 cow-calf pairs counted through January 5 in 1997-98, an El Nino winter.

Many more are being spotted by whale-watching operations and private boaters, helping to dispel a widespread notion that gray whales deliver most of their babies in Baja’s lagoons.

In fact, as many as 50% of gray whale births occur before the mothers reach the lagoons.

But because winter generally provides lots of poor weather, keeping spotters at bay, most of them go undetected. But this year, it seems, that all the dynamics of the southbound migration are on clear display, and so far nobody is complaining.

Sea Shepherd encounters rare and mysterious Type D orcas

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Mysterious and rarely observed killer whales described simply as “Type D” were documented recently in the southern Indian Ocean by a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society crew that had been pursuing what it claimed to be poachers.

The orca encounter–which lasted about an hour and included wake surfing, bow riding and tail slapping–occurred on December 26 in rough seas in the harsh and remote region between the Crozet and Kergulen archipelagos (see video).

 

In this area the mammals, which are characterized by their large bulbous foreheads, are known to eat toothfish–a type of cod marketed as Chilean seabass–after they’ve become hooked on longline gear.

The Sea Shepherd crew, aboard the Bob Barker, claimed to have been pursuing a vessel fishing illegally for toothfish when 13 Type D orcas appeared alongside the boat and were videotaped.

Robert L. Pitman, of NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in the United States, confirmed the sighting and is quoted in a Sea Shepherd press release as saying that before this encounter, “I don’t think they have ever been filmed alive.”

A scientific paper on Type D orcas, produced by CNRS, states that they’re one of three distinct “morphotypes” of killer whales that have been documented off the Crozet and Kerguelen islands, which are French territories.

The Type D group, first documented in Crozet waters in 2003, is the rarest and most mysterious. Little is known about these mammals’ feeding habits, beyond depredation on hooked toothfish.

However, their appearance is distinct. Besides their large, bulbous foreheads, they boast tiny eye patches compared to those of most killer whale types; their dorsal fins are shorter and narrower, and their teeth are smaller.ye patches

Most sightings, understandably, have been logged by longline fishermen. Erwin Vermeulen, chief engineer aboard the Bob Barker, said of the December 26 encounter: “The crew watched in awe as the 13 killer whales, including a small juvenile and a large male, used a 6-meter swell to surf across the bow. For almost an hour the surf show continued and was accompanied by bow riding, tail=slaps and breaches.”

Sea Shepherd is a controversial group most famous for its annual harassment of Japanese whalers in the Antarctic. Sea Shepherd’s campaign against illegal fishing for toothfish is called Operation Icefish.

–Type D orca images are courtesy of Sea Shepherd

Related articles

Wisdom, world's oldest albatross, is a mom-to-be once more

Great white sharks videotaped attacking plastic seal

Humpback whale seems to take flight off Laguna Beach

Humpback whale images are courtesy of ©Carla Mitroff

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend was stuffed with excitement, as far as Southern California whale watchers were concerned.

Two types of killer whales–one from the south, the other from the north–were spotted hunting sea lions in what were considered rare sightings.

But the greatest spectacle seems to have involved a juvenile humpback whale that breached 30 times, at one point launching completely out of the water, close to shore off Laguna Beach.

The sequence shows the large cetacean seeming to levitate briefly before re-entry.

Mitroff described the day as "one for the record book," and explained that Capt. Tommy White had been looking for killer whales, or orcas, when the humpback whale first breached in front of the 95-foot boat, in about 200 feet of water.

"We kept our cameras ready in case it breached again, and a minute later it did!" Mitroff said. "And again and again... we counted 20 times."

After the whale took a short break it breached eight more times, then twice more as White began to guide the Dana Pride back to port.

“For one little girl it was the first time she had seen a whale,” Mitroff said. “She called it Harry because all the barnacles hanging from its chin looked like a beard.”

Mitroff, a naturalist with the Orange County chapter of the American Cetacean Society, posted these and many other photos of the series of breaches on her Facebook page.

Photos also appear on the Dana Wharf Whale Watching Facebook page.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a Southern California whale researcher, said that while humpback whales are known to breach and sometimes breach multiple times, this event is rarely observed or captured by a photographer.

Humpback whales have been spotted for several weeks off Dana Point, which also is unusual.

As for the killer whales spotted over the last several days, one group is from Mexico (known as Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas). These orcas have rarely been documented in U.S. waters.

The other pod is comprised of transient killer whales, more commonly spotted off Monterey in Central California.

Transients were last seen off Dana Point in March of 2013, according to Donna Kalez, general manager of Dana Wharf Whale Watching.

Related articles

Orcas from Mexico make rare SoCal showing

Humpback whale photographed with pelican in its mouth

Killer whales hunt dolphins in Tijuana surf zone (photos)

Killer whales from Mexico spotted off San Diego, Oceanside

Killer whales from Mexico are spotted off Oceanside; photos via ©Jonathan Hoover

Earlier this month, beachgoers in Tijuana enjoyed a rare sighting of killer whales just beyond the surf.

They were believed to be Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, or orcas, which rarely travel that far north.

Now, however, it seems as though the ETP killer whales are taking a liking to U.S. waters.

Eight killer whales were spotted Sunday off San Diego, and at least that many were spotted Monday and Tuesday off Oceanside, near the pier.

On Tuesday afternoon, killer whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger matched two of the killer whales photographed Monday with killer whales photographed Sunday off San Diego.

“I just looked at additional images from the San Diego sighting Sunday, and from [Monday’s] Oceanside sighting; 2 of the 8 San Diego orcas match two of the Oceanside orcas!” the researcher stated on Facebook. “Hopefully the orcas seen off Oceanside this morning will continue to head up the coast!”

Orcas can be matched based on distinctive markings on their dorsal fins or saddle areas.

The images accompanying this post were captured Monday by Jonathan Hoover. The Oceanside pier is visible in the second image.

Not a lot is known about ETPs, versus transient orcas that occasionally visit Southern California waters from the Central California region. Schulman-Janiger said the ETPs are opportunistic feeders that will sometimes prey on other marine mammals. (The killer whales spotted off Tijuana killed a dolphin.)

The ETPs, which are more common off Central America and mainland Mexico, have been documented in U.S. waters, as far north as Catalina Island. But very few sightings have been documented over the past several decades.

NOAA has identified about 240 individual ETPs.

Their presence off Southern California comes toward the end of a summer-fall season that has been unlike any in recent history, in terms of rare visits by marine critters.

Wahoo, yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi, and blue marlin are among species of fish that have been caught off Southern California, far north of their typical range.

False killer whales, Bryde’s whales, and pilot whales are among marine mammals that have been spotted in the region.

The odd catches and sightings were attributed to a band of unusually warm water that extended from southern Baja California to Southern California.

 

Related articles

Rare opah catch results in stunning underwater photos

Killer whales hunt dolphins in Tijuana surf zone (photos)

Bamboo the rescue dog actually knows how to skateboard