At least 21 and perhaps as many as 26 gray whales treated whale watching enthusiasts to an incredible show today out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach (www.2seewhales.com).
Whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger says that this is the largest pod of gray whales she has ever seen and may be the largest seen in three decades.
Join Phil Friedman who was on board for this incredible spectacle of nature along with Christopher Captain Christian Batts, Alisa Schulman-Janiger, passengers who were on board to learn more about this historic day in Southern California whale watching.
Go to Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio on Facebook to hear more great archived shows.
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Captain Andy Siratt of the Enterprise out of Long Beach Marina Sportfishing was enjoying another morning of spectacular rockfishing just off Huntington Beach when he noticed several blows about a mile in the distance.
Before long, Siratt also noticed lots of krill in the water, small shrimp-like creatures that blue and fin whales are fond of as a meal. "This is the most whales I have seen for a while," said Siratt.
It didn't take long for the news to reach Danny Salas from Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach who specializes in whale watch adventures. "We are excited," said Salas. "We are sending the Christopher out there now."
Blue whales are the largest creatures to have ever inhabited the face of the earth. They can reach over 100 feet in length; that's three school buses. They have hearts the size of a Volkswagen and a tongue that weighs as much as an elephant. Adult blue whales weigh between 200-300,000 pounds.
Blue whales became a much sought after species for their large amounts of blubber. The killing reached a peak in 1931 when 29,649 blue whales were taken. By 1966, blues were so few that the International Whaling Commission declared them protected throughout the world. Today, there are between 8,000-9,000 blue whales in the oceans endangered species.
In addition to the blue and fin whales, the first gray whale of the new season was spotted off the Trump Golf Course on Wednesday afternoon by the Christopher. Danny Salas reported that the gray breached 5 times treating the whale watchers on board to a spectacular show.
The first gray whales are normally seen after the first of the year as the make their way from the Berring Sea to the warm water lagoons of Baja California. "We just hope this is the first of many early arrivals this year," said Salas.
It's been a while since these incredible creatures have graced us with their presence so don't delay in a trip that you might well remember for a lifetime.
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Redondo Special galley cook Mark Zahza is reporting at least 7 orcas with 2-3 babies eating sea lions left and right about 4 miles form Redondo Beach, CA near a favorite rockfish spot known as Big Reef.
The attack occurred around 12 noon today but it's not the first time the orcas have been feeding here. "They were here at just about the same time yesterday," said Zahza. "It's like it's lunchtime for them and they liked what was on the menu yesterday."
Yesterday was also the day when a pod of killer whales killed a baby gray whale and injured the mother in a very rare occurrence for Los Angeles waters.
"We have watched them eat at least 4 sea lions," said Zahza. "They were tossing the sea lions in the air like they were rag dolls."
In an extremely rare occurrence for Los Angeles County waters, transient killer whales attacked and killed a baby gray whale off Point Vicente this afternoon. Captain Carl Mayhugh was on scene on board the whale watch vessel Christopher out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach and witnessed much of the savage attack around 4pm.
"I got on the public address system and apprised our passengers of the attack. "This could be brutal," he told the whale watchers on board. "If you don't want to see this then don't look; but we are going."
Upon arriving, Mayhugh said that the baby gray whale was already dead. "It was shocking to see but everyone on board seemed to accept it as a part of nature."
The orcas began dragging the baby whales' carcass backwards. "At one point, the baby's face came out of the water; jaws open followed by a swirl of blood."
According to Mayhugh, the mother looked exhausted after numerous orcas had tried to drag her underwater and drowned her. "She was rolling on her back and looking like she was ready to give up," said Mayhugh. "Just as it looked like she was finished, she put on a burst of speed as fast as I've ever seen from a gray and swam away from the pack."
The pack of 12 orcas then turned their attention to devouring the smaller leviathan.
This is an extremely rare occurrence for the waters off Los Angeles and may well be the first documented orca kill of a gray whale here. Most of these kinds of attacks take place in the Northern California waters off Monterey and in the Arctic Sea.
"I didn't know whether to feel blessed to be seeing this, sorry for the whales or a mix of emotions," said Mayhugh. "One thing is for sure; it's a memory I will take with me to the grave."
Earlier in the day , it appears that these same orcas may have attacked a group of sea lions. Redondo Special deckhand Ryan Koverman said that the passengers and crew on board the Redondo Beach based 1/2 day boat witnessed killer whales attacking sea lions today. "We saw killer whales this morning feeding on a large group of sea lions on our way to Point Vicente.
Photo: File photo of an orca taken by Bernardo Alps.
Captain Carl Mayhugh from the Christopher at Harbor Breeze Cruises is reporting at least 4 killer whales, including a calf are off Point Vicente in Southern California and headed west on Wednesday afternoon.
"We just left them reported," Mayhugh at 2:15pm. "There were at least 4 orcas there and may have been as many as 7. They came right to the boat with one of them rolling on it's side while a couple of others were holding their tails in the air."
Mayhugh also reported that there were 4 gray whales hiding in the kelp. "There were 2 cow/calf pairs hiding in the kelp," said Mayhugh. "The orcas were more than likely hunting for the baby gray whales and the moms were just protecting them.
Gray whale calves are a favorite snack for orcas. Killer whales eat up to 5% of their body weight each day. This averages out to over 500 pounds of food for each orca.
"It has been a truly memorable day," said Mayhugh. "We saw thousands of dolpins, gray whales and finished up with a great show from the orcas. It doesn't get any better than this."
Video is from earlier in 2012 and was shot on board the Christopher.
File photo of orcas off Palos Verdes earlier in 2012 provided by Bernardo Alps.
Thanks to Wallace Air Cargo Group, 129 children and adults go to to go on a whale watching adventure on Cinco de Mayo out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach, Ca. Great families from Angles Step Inn, Long Beach Memorial Hospital, 61st St School in Los Angeles as well as dozens of other families were treated to witness the longest mammalian migration known to man; that of the gray whale.
They make a 10-12,000 mile annual trip from the Arctic Seas to the warm water lagoons of Baja California where they calf. Males depart Baja earlier leaving mom and calf pairs to return northbound alone.
The leviathans encounter a myriad of obstacles on their way home which includes possible entanglement in fishing gear, ship strikes and predation from the mighty orca.
Within a 1/2 hour of leaving Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, we came across a cow/calf pair, headed north and hugging the coast near Point Fermin. "Look at the whales," yelled Hector Medina from Wilmington, Ca as you could hear and feel the excitement from the crowd on board.
Captain Larry Moore was on board as a volunteer with Phil Friedman Outdoors. "These kids had a great experience on this trip. They were so excited to actually see a mother gray whale and her cafe up close. Then the captain went in search of dolphins and when he found them. The dolphin followed the boat so close; right under the bow as they usually do with the kids were screaming with excitement, "said Moore.
"This is a huge day for everyone," said Dr. Gnyandev Patel from the Neha Medical Group in Lakewood. "These families would never ever had the means to see something so beautiful."
Tim Barbee from 61st St School in Los Angeles brought over 40 children to the outing. "These are the best and the brightest from 61st St. School," said Barbee. "This is a day they will never forget."
Mickey Bryson brought his kids from Los Angeles and enjoyed the experience." It was a trip of lifetime memories for these kids and their families. I encourage all of us to invest time with these children and make a difference in someones life as the dividends are well worth the investment. My heartfelt thanks to all that had a part in making this trip possible."
Orcas were spotted yesterday by the Christopher out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach. Scott Louie from Harbor Breeze Cruises said that the orcas seemed to be traveling west when the Christopher encountered them.
Killer whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger posted the following on her Facebook:
14 KILLER WHALES SPOTTED AT OUR CENSUS TODAY, HEADING WEST - including CHOPFIN (who was around our area nearly three weeks ago). They ate at least one sea lion. They were last seen at 6pm, headed west rapidly, 9 miles off of El Segundo. The Christopher and photographer/naturalist Eric Martin got on a subpod of six; the others still need to be seen and photographed. Keep those cameras ready!
Whale watch boats in Southern California will be on the look out for the Orcas as the weather should be perfect for the weekend.
Video: Shot in January on board the Christopher off the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Footage provided by Danny Salas and Harbor Breeze Cruises.
Crews are working to rescue a gray whale entangled in fishing line off the California coast.
According to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the 40-foot whale is towing about 50 to 100 feet of line on one of its fins and in its mouth.
Rescue teams attached buoys to the whale to help track it as they try to get into a good position to cut the line.
Last month, two California gray whales were tangled in netting or fishing gear off the Orange County coast and were later rescued, though one of the whales may have later died.
The first wave of northbound whales passed by Southern California in March and continue to filter through and up the coast. Now, a second wave of these incredible creatures is making their way up the coast and should continue to delight Southern California whale watchers for weeks to come.
The northbound gray whales pass by some of the largest cities in the world. That brings with it some inherent dangers such as ship traffic. Another major obstacle for cow/calf pairs is predation from killer whales. Gray whales are an important food source for killer whale. One calf can feed up to 30 killer whales, serving as an important supplement to the orca's more regular diet of sea lions and other smaller mammals.
Fishing nets are another obstacle in the gray whales migration. Photo's of Humpback whales for a recent government report found that over 1/2 of the whales had signs of injuries from fishing gear.
Some of the first blue whales of 2012 in Southern California were spotted today on board the Christopher out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach. Captain Carl Mayhugh and a group of lucky whale watchers came across a pair of blue whales near the Huntington Beach oil gigs. The whales fluked for the group a couple of times as they made their way around the rigs on the noon trip.
There have been numerous reports of an abundance of krill in Southern California waters recently which is a favorite food source of the might blue whale. While this may be a tad early for the leviathans to arrive in sunny California, the presence of vast quantities of krill may not only attract the giants but may make them less likely to leave.
Blue whales are the largest creatures to have ever inhabited the face of the earth. They can reach over 100 feet in length; that's three school buses. They have hearts the size of a Volkswagen and a tongue that weighs as much as an elephant. Adult blue whales weigh between 200-300,000 pounds.
Blue whales became a much sought after species for their large amounts of blubber. The killing reached a peak in 1931 when 29,649 blue whales were taken. By 1966, blues were so few that the International Whaling Commission declared them protected throughout the world. Today, there are between 8,000-9,000 blue whales in the oceans endangered species.
On the 3 p.m. trip on board the Christopher, Captain Mayhugh reported seeing 2 minke whales and 1 blue whale.
Seeing a blue whale in the wild is a one of a kind outdoor experience. To come face to face with this agile, enormous and enigmatic creature is something you will never forget. Hopefully, this is just the start of another incredible blue whale watching season.
Photos: File photos courtesey of Harbor Breeze Cruises
What a tremendous start to the 2012 whale watch season in Southern California. Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach has seen gray whales, minke whales, humpback whales, blue whales and fin whales along with copious amounts of dolphin and other sea life.
Perhaps most exciting of all has been the numerous visits of killer whales to the waters just off Southern California.
Captain Danny Salas and Harbor Breeze Cruises have provided Phil Friedman Outdoors with some incredible footage of one of those visits from January of 2012.
You'll see Orcas spyhopping, breaching, blowing bubbles and swimming at high speeds. You'll also see how curious killer whales are. The Orca's brain is five times larger than the human brain. They are very social and highly intelligent animals and you will see their curiosity manifest itself as they come as close as possible to the whale watch vessel Christopher. The Orcas seem as interested as looking at the humans as the humans at them.
This great footage was provided by Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach, California. I only hope that you too will get a chance to see a killer whale in person soon.
