by Dennis Copson

Created on: March 20, 2009

The Tale of the Wayward Whale

A California gray whale has apparently made a wrong turn ending up in San Diego Bay. A local news reporter suggests it must be a male because men never ask for directions. Whatever the gender, the whale has been in the bay for at least nine days and appears in no hurry to leave.

California gray whales migrate between Alaska and the waters of Baja, California yearly, a journey of about 10,000 miles round trip. They feed voraciously during summers in Alaska on the nutrient rich crustaceans on the muddy bottom at the mouths of rivers then travel south for the winter months to warmer waters to give birth and mate.

The gray whale is classified as a medium - sized whale in relation to their larger cousins, the Blue and Humpbacked whales. California Grays grow to 30 - 45 feet in length and weigh in at about 2000 pounds per foot on average.

The California gray whale was nearly extinct as recently as fifty years ago before federal protections were afforded them - specifically the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They have rebounded successfully and were removed from the US Endangered Species List in 1994. There is now an estimated thirty thousand of these marine mammals swimming in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Their migration is a fascinating adventure. They travel relatively close to the shoreline and can be seen from cliffs many times in many areas along the California coast. In fact, a considerable tourist business has emerged in recent years whale watching. Boats are available during the winter months which roam out to sea for several miles to look for whales swimming north or south. The practice was getting out of hand a few years back as boaters crowded the whales trying to get up close and personal until measures were enacted to force boaters to stay a certain distance from the whales to avoid frightening them. Stiff fines ensure the rules are followed as much as $12,000 for hitting a whale with your boat; they are enforced strictly.

Their journey south to Baja each winter ends in protected, warm water, shallow lagoons along the Pacific Coast of Mexico. One such secluded and sheltered calving ground is Laguna San Ignacio, a nursing area for the grays. Here the whales truly are very friendly towards humans. Mama whales actually push their young towards pangas, diminutive Mexican fishing boats with small motors, limited in their numbers. Humans and whales interact. Those who have experienced the phenomenon say it is life changing to look a baby

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