Gray Whale Migration: South & North

Baby Gray Whale Near Boat in San Ignacio

     It is late February and thousands of gray whales have found their way to the warm waters of Baja California.  New baby whales are counted everyday.
     Latecomers are still spotted southbound. Last Thursday we saw a pod of about 4 whales swimming south from our Central California lookout.  And then the next day we saw at least 2 whale swimming back north.  They were probably juvenile gray whales.  
      The Pacific west coast is like a whale highway right now.  Blue whales are visiting Monterey Bay, along with a few Humpback whales.  Off the coast of Los Angeles, a whale watch boat found a pod of Sperm whales!  That was a surprise.  


     

Student Devoted to Cleaning Beach

By Abigail Burrus — Student at Teach Elementary Morro Bay

One day, my teacher told us to choose a community action project. I immediately knew what I wanted to do: a beach cleanup. I chose a beach cleanup because I knew trash can hurt many animals in the ocean. A floating plastic bag looks like a jellyfish to a dolphin. It might eat it, then choke and die. I planned to pick up trash from Morro Bay to Cayucos.

I found out, when researching, about a large pile of trash floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is the size of Texas! I wanted to stop this junk pile from getting bigger.

So every weekend, I went to the beach to pick up trash. I picked up more than 20 pounds! I was proud, but I knew people, not caring about the consequences of their actions, would still litter and add to the trash heap in the Pacific.

I want more people to pick up trash than people who litter it. If every person picked up one piece of trash, imagine how clean the beaches would be! The animals of the ocean would be safe, and the Pacific trash heap wouldn’t expand. What a great day at the beach! 

Source:  San Luis Obispo Tribune

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/02/15/2395147/pick-up-the-beach.html#storylink=cpy

Thank You, Oceans, For the Air

If there was no ocean, then what would happen to every other breath we take?

That's right, every other breath we take comes from the ocean.  It is why Neptune 911 wants to help people around the world better understand why it is important to keep our oceans healthy. 

Making Fluke Prints

Photo of gray whale migrating south to Baja California. Photo take Jan. 31.

Thank you Blue Ocean Whale Watch for this recent photo.

If people leave footprints, then what do whales make?  They don't have big feet, but they do have big flukes (their rear tail).  When that fluke hits the water it leaves a fluke print.  The white arrow show the fluke print this whale left behind.

Gray whale fluke.  www.examiner.com

Teen is First to Witness Hagfish Slurping

Hagfish

Have you ever met a hagfish? 

I ask that question to kids from around the world when I'm with the elephant seals in California

A 14-year-old from the Ukraine caught an elephant seal snag a hagfish.  It's a first.

What's the big deal?  Well, every scientist I know has NEVER seen an elephant seal eat a hagfish, yet they know that these big seals do like to dine on the slimy, eel-like fish that dwell at the ocean's floor cleaning up dead cetaceans.

Female northern elephant seal with newborn. C. Coimbra photo.

The exciting video is not on You Tube yet.  But this link will amaze you:  Ukrainian teen makes rare discovery

UPDATE:  

 


And amaze your friends with this from BioTechnology:  "One of the world’s creepiest creatures may be the source of new kinds of petroleum-free plastics and super-strong fabrics, according to research by scientists in Canada studying the hagfish, a bottom-dwelling creature that hasn’t evolved for 300 million years and produces a sticky slime when threatened. The gooey material is actually a kind of protein that turns into choking strands of tough fibers when released into the water."

A Mermaid's Message

Dolphin Ask Divers For Help

This video is kind of long, but it is an amazing video because:

1) The manta rays are gorgeous;
2) The dolphin asks for the attention of the divers;
3) The divers discover that the dolphin  needs help.  It is entangled with fishing line.  (Fishing line that someone might have carelessly thrown into the ocean.);
4) How the divers and the dolphin work together to cut and remove the fishing line from the dolphin's fin.

Fishing line tossed into creeks, rivers, lakes and oceans is dangerous to the creatures that live there.  Birds also get entangled with fishing line. Fishhooks are also dangerous, as seen in the video above.

When you go fishing watch for a fishing line recycling container like the one pictured here.  

This way you will be a friend of fish, mammals, sea turtles, and birds.

What should you do if you see a marine mammal or sea turtle entangled?

• Keep your distance.  Injured, sick or entangled animals can be unpredictable and dangerous.

• Please call the NOAA Marine Mammal Hotline: 1-888-256-9840. 

  
What are your thoughts about this video?  You can comment below.