motoged - 4-16-2015 at 04:04 PM
Interesting article on the migration of Pacific gray whales....may be some identity confusion:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/gray-whale-s-record-migration-may-reveal-bad-news-1.3036144
Bajahowodd - 4-16-2015 at 04:58 PM
Interesting article. I had wondered about some of the numbers I had read about the grey whale being close to extinction not realizing it was not the
guys I pet annually in Ojo De Liebre.
I am curious as to whether there is a genetic distinction between the two, or if it is only the location of habitat. Would love to have Shari chime in
on this.
Whale-ista - 4-16-2015 at 08:52 PM
This western population of grays is not protected as in US and MX. There are many threats in Asian waters (Japan, possibly Korea):
"Three western gray whales, all females, were fatally entangled in net-traps on the Pacific coast of Japan in 2005 (Kato et al., 2006). Subpopulation
projections show that if this level of mortality continues, the subpopulation would decline towards extinction (Cooke et al. 2006, IWC 2007). Most
recently, a female yearling (9.1 m) was killed in Yoshihama Bay, Sanriku, Japan on 19 January 2007. The stranding of a dead western gray whale in
Japan with a hand harpoon lodged in it of the kind used by porpoise hunters (Brownell and Kasuya 1999) is of concern, as is the finding of gray whale
meat on domestic whale meat markets on the Pacific coast of Japan (Baker et al. 2002). Incidental catches of cetaceans in the extensive coastal net
fisheries off southern China are also of concern (Zhou and Wang 1994)."
www.iucnredlist.org/details/8099/0
Ateo - 4-16-2015 at 09:31 PM
Saw some Gray's while surfing Oceanside Harbor North Jetty tonight. Beautiful evening..........
motoged - 4-16-2015 at 10:53 PM
Whale-ista - 4-17-2015 at 06:38 PM
FYI, according to Shari's "Gray Whale Handbook":
"The Korean stock, thought to be extinct from overhunting, is teetering on the verge with only 100-200 animals remaining."
So if some of these Korean (western Pacific) grays are, in fact, mingling with Eastern pacific grays, and being "double counted," their numbers may be
fewer than 200, and their ability to maintain a distinct stock may be impossible. We could begin to see a mingling of the two stocks as the Eastern
Pacific population continues to rebound, thanks to protected status.
Related: a gray whale was observed in the Mediterranean Sea in recent years, even though the Atlantic population is believed to be extinct due to
whaling by hunters over previous centuries. So perhaps Eastern Pacific whales are crossing over the Arctic circle (as ice disappears) and entering
Atlantic waters as far south as the Mediterranean, looking for friends... amazing!
(Remember: these gray whales are the oldest species of whales still living on the planet- they are more closely related to dinosaurs than other
living marine mammals. They are definitely survivors!)
[Edited on 4-18-2015 by Whale-ista]