Happy Holidays for Southern California Whale Watchers

Southern California whale watchers are being treated to perfect weather as well as record numbers of gray whales passing by the coast. The ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project at Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula have logged over 150 sightings of southbound gray whales in the month of December. The previous high for December sightings occured in 1996 with 133 of the leviathans being counted.

On Monday, 27 gray whales were logged passing by Point Vicente; more gray whales than had ever been logged before on any December day. The journey from the Bering and Chukchi seas to the lagoons in Baja California and back averages between 10,000 to 14,000 miles.

Tuesday was a marvellous day out of Harbor Breeze Cruises on the Christopher as whale watchers saw 10 gray whales on two trips out of Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach. On the Monday morning trip whale watchers saw 5 gray whales along with a pod of dolphin 500 strong. "We have been seeing lots of gray whales with a lot of other life too," said Scout Louie from Harbor Breeze.

On Sunday, the Christopher came across 3 gray whales, 8 fin whales, a mess of dolphin and a Humpback whale. "It was an extraordinary day," said Louie.

Gray whales feed on small crustaceans on the bottom of the ocean by rolling on their sides and drawing up bottom sediments and lots of seawater.

The whale then closes its mouth expelling the water and sediment through its baleen plates and leaving a tasty meal inside. Adult males can reach 46 feet, and while adult females can reach 50 feet. They weigh between 30 to 40 tons.

Besides a whale watch trip another way to track whales this year is on your computer. The Marine Mammal Institute within Oregon State University has tagged two gray whales that you can track online. Vavara and Agent are presently making their way across the Bering Sea but taking very different routes.

If you plan on whale watching from your own boat, make sure you are aware of NOAA’s Marine Mammal Viewing Guidelines and Regulations—federal law prohibits harassment of these whales so please remain at least 100 yards from the migrating whales. Do not attempt to touch or swim with these creatures as their behavior can be unpredictable.

Gray whales were given full protection in 1947 by the International Whaling Commission. Since that time, the eastern north Pacific gray whale population has rebounded to near its original population size somewhere between 19,000 and 23,000 whales.

A Dec. 18 post on YouTube by RIPproductions9 off Laguna Beach shows three divers interacting with a gray whale. The whale makes a u-turn towards the camera and gives these divers a Christmas present they will have for a lifetime.

These are truly Happy Holidays for Southern California whale watchers and there is nothing like an up close and personal encounter with one of these truly remarkable creatures.

Photo Credit: A gray whale spyhops in one of the Baja lagoons where the species spends their winters calving and nursing every year. Alisa Shulman-Janiger