Gray whale puts on a show in Tomales Bay
By Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal
12/30/2010 05:47:33 PM PST
Kayakers recorded a 25-foot gray whale surfacing repeatedly in Tomales Bay and posted it on YouTube. (Video screengrab)
A 25-foot-long gray whale on its way to Baja from Alaska has turned up in Tomales Bay, thrilling spectators as it leisurely swims and dives to the water's bottom to dine on a smorgasbord of worms, mollusks and crustaceans.
"It is rare to see a gray whale in Tomales Bay," said John Dell'Osso, chief of interpretation for the Point Reyes National Seashore. "We are in the peak of the migration season now and this one must have veered off."
The whale has been spotted for the past three weeks. John Granatir, who operates Blue Waters Kayaking at Tomales Bay, saw the whale up close last week near Lawson's Landing.
"I was about 50 yards away and it was just laying on top of the water," he said. "It didn't seem too shy of people. It was just lazing around. It was also diving for food. It was amazing to see."
A kayaker recorded the whale and posted it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uOBganNV1E
Gray whales are bottom feeders and sift through mud on the ocean floor with the baleen, comb-like filters in their mouths. They collect crustaceans, plankton, mollusks, squid and fish in their baleen while spitting out the rest.
"When they dive you see a plume of mud come to the surface," Granatir said. "They don't have to go far down in Tomales Bay because it's only about 30 feet deep or so."
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Gulf of the Farallones
National Marine Sanctuary is advising people to steer clear of the whale. People should watch for the gray whale's blow, which looks like a puff of smoke about 10 to 15 feet high, and not approach within 300 feet.
It's possible that this whale may have come to Tomales Bay in search of food, which has been lacking in the open ocean.
"There is a change in food availability in the ocean," said Mary Jane Schramm, spokeswoman for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. "More and more we are seeing whales stall during their migration looking for food. Some arrive without that extra layer of blubber and you see the shape of their skull and scapula. Some are very skinny."
Aside from the specimen in Tomales Bay, gray whales are appearing off Point Reyes, giving visitors an opportunity to see the giant mammals migrating south.
Beginning Saturday, the Point Reyes National Seashore will offer bus rides from the Ken Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach to popular viewing areas such as Chimney Rock and the historic lighthouse, weather permitting.
Because Point Reyes juts 10 miles into the ocean, people can get good views of the whales.
The whales' migration takes them some 10,000 miles each year, the longest of any mammal. They spend about a third of their lives migrating, scientists say.
The Bering and Chukchi seas off Siberia and Alaska provide a feeding ground for gray whales, but as winter approaches and days grow shorter and colder, the whales begin their journey south to the warmer climate of Baja California. The whales are able to swim 20 hours at a time.
While they travel together for the journey, the whales separate at their destination. Then after up to three months basking in the warm waters off Baja, some with newborn calves, they migrate back to Alaska and can again be seen at Point Reyes in March.
"They typically are seen now from mid-December through mid-January," Dell'Osso said. "When the water is choppy they are hard to see, but when the weather is good it's quite a sight."
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