#Whale watching san diego skin#
#Whale watching san diego series#

In late September, grays begin the southern migration. Feasting on this bounty, the whales build up a layer of blubber that serves as insulation and as a food reserve. The Arctic seas produce tons of amphipods that are the staple of a gray whale’s diet. Summer: Gray whales summer in the waters off Alaska and Siberia. It’s one leg of a round-trip migration of nearly 12, 000 miles-the longest of any mammal: When gray whales appear off our coast in December, they are nearing the end of a long journey from Arctic waters to the lagoons of Baja California. As a result, current populations are considered close to their pre-exploitation numbers. Gray whales have been protected from exploitation by the International Whaling Commission since 1946. Gray whales were nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century. Killer whales, large sharks and people are the gray whales only known predators. Gray whales have six to 12 knobs, or bumps, along the tops of their tail ridges instead of a fin like some other whales. Each whale has its own distinctive pattern of barnacles and scars, and scientists use these patterns to identify individual whales. But it is mottled with scars and patches of light-colored barnacles growing on its back.

#Whale watching san diego skin#

Lying on its side, a gray whale slurps up mouthfuls of mud and water, then filters out the amphipods through its baleen.Ī gray whale’s skin is dark gray. Millions of amphipods live in the muddy Arctic seafloor. Gray whales eat tiny animals called amphipods. They use these comb-like sheets to filter food from the water. Instead of teeth, gray whales have long sheets of baleen (made of the same material as your fingernails) hanging from the roofs of their mouths.

They don’t ‘sing’ elaborate songs like humpback whales.

#Whale watching san diego series#

Gray whales make a series of grunts, clicks and low rumbles to navigate and communicate among themselves. They reach sexual maturity at eight years. Gray whales live 20 to 40 years on average, and some live 60 years. Along the way, they pass Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument, where you can witness their annual winter journey.Īdult Pacific gray whales are 30 to 50 feet long and weigh from 20 to 40 tons.īaby gray whales average 15 feet in length and weigh about a ton.Ī mother gray whale's milk is more than 50% fat. After spending the summer feeding in the food-rich waters of the Arctic, the whales swim south along the coast to the bays of Baja California, where they mate and nurse their young. Gray Whale Migration - Witness the Annual Winter JourneyĮach winter, the Pacific gray whales pass by the western overlooks of Cabrillo National Monument.