The unimaginable thrill
of adrenaline as the enormous gray body thrusts itself out of the rippling
ocean water. It looms impossibly huge and powerful. It arches its back and
then, all at once, it’s barreling down again, full speed! With a tremendous,
thunderous SLAM! it throws itself back into the water and vanishes beneath the
foamy wake of its own dive.
Wow! It must be an
absolutely indescribable experience to see a gray whale -- or any whale for
that matter -- breaching in the open ocean wilderness. Like many people, I’ve
only ever seen whales in pictures, and once or twice cooped up in aquarium
tanks.
But a lot of people
along the California Coast have been having much more luck than I, this year.
Apparently, there have been more Gray Whale sightings this year than there have
been in about 30 year. There have been over 730 reported since last December 1st
alone! There have been sightings of all sorts, including breaching, spy-hopping
(rising vertically out of the water for a peek around) and playing.
Even more rare was the
sighting described in this article. Scientists say that the Gray Whales usually
go through their breeding rituals far from land in the deep, deep water, where
it’s harder for roaming human eyes to see. This couple, for some reason,
decided to go about it much closer to shore. In fact, the embedded video was
taken from the tour boat that was only a few feet away as the whales went about
their business! And why not? Valentine’s
Day is only a couple of weeks away!
Actually, the
scientists are not 100% sure that’s what the whales were doing, but if not, it
was something quite like it. There was even a little dolphin following the
whale around, which is, apparently, quite typical during these mating rituals,
for reasons unknown. It’s another of Mother Nature’s mysteries.
Scientists don’t know
why Gray Whale sightings have become so prolific, out there, this year.
Climatic changes, perhaps. But they’re taking full advantage of this
opportunity to study this beautiful, amazing creature. Here are some incredible
facts about them:
They amaze people,
every year, with their fantastic migration skills. They move, with the seasons, between Alaska and Mexico.
That’s the length of the North American
continent. Wow! And I get tuckered just walking to the grocery store and back!
But there's still trouble for the whales. Awhile ago, a Gray Whale got beached on shore in Seattle and
didn’t survive the ordeal. When scientists examined the body, they were
horrified to find the poor animal’s stomach was full of garbage including
plastic bags, plastic bags, sweat pants, surgical gloves, duct tape, and a golf
ball.
Even more tragically,
this isn’t the first whale to be found this way.
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