BajaNomad - Whale season in full swing in Baja California Sur

Whale season in full swing in Baja California Sur

BajaNews - 1-30-2006 at 05:34 AM

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/16784.html

BY ELINO VILLANUEVA AND ARTURO SORIANO/EL UNIVERSAL
Lunes 30 de enero de 2006

PUERTO ADOLFO L?PEZ MATEOS, Baja California Sur - By the time December rolls around along the coast of Baja California Sur, things have settled into a pretty regular routine. The fishermen go out, they come back in; the tide goes out, the tide comes back in. Nothing changes much, really, except for the increasingly cool winter temperatures.

But then comes the New Year, and that?s when the action starts. Fishermen temporarily set aside their hunt for fish and crustaceans to use their boats to ferry tourists around the peninsular waters. Larger tour boats spring into action as well, and restaurants, hotels, artisans and souvenir vendors get themselves into gear for the arriving crowds.

That?s because the period between January and March is when gray whales make their annual return to lagoon sanctuaries in Baja California to mate and breed, bringing with them flocks of admiring tourists.

By the end of this season, some 20,000 whales will have come to the warm Sea of Cort?s coastal waters, where approximately 350 baby whales - weighing as much as one ton upon birth - will have been born. Another 40,000 humans will have come along to enjoy the spectacle.

The gray whales follow one of the world?s most impressive migration patterns. Each year, they travel approximately 12,000 kilometers from the frigid polar waters of the north down the western coasts of Canada and the United States to the Baja California peninsula. Swimming in familiar groups of 15 to 20, they average a speed of 18 kilometers per hour.

And while they were close to extinction during parts of the 20th Century, experts say that they have stabilized their numbers enough now that extinction is no longer a major concern. At one point, hunting had reduced the whale?s numbers to an estimated 250 worldwide. But by the 1967-68 migration season, the figure had rebounded to 12,000, and in 1997-98, the population had risen to 26,000.

This rehabilitation was especially critical given that the animal is one of the oldest species of mammals, having been on Earth for about 30 million years.

According to Dr. Luis Fleischer, who has spent the past 16 years with the International Whale Commission in Mexico, the gray whale is a Mexican citizen and not merely a seasonal visitor.

"It is often thought that the whales are ?loaned? (to Mexico), but that is not the case," explained Fleischer, author of the book The Gray Whale, Mexican By Birth. "They are Mexican because they were born here."

The gray whale will only reproduce in Baja California because the coastal lagoons here provide the ideal conditions for the activity. The waters are calm and not too deep - no more than 50 meters maximum - and there are no sharks to bother them. And perhaps most importantly, the prevailing currents here create a warm body of water that has an ideal temperature for breeding.

The gestation period for gray whales is about one year, and females have calves every other year.

Because of its fondness for mating and living in coastal waters, gray whales have learned, to some degree, to get along with humans. In fact, they are commonly known to approach the tourist boats that travel into their breeding grounds.

But their closeness to humans and human civilization can also create problems for the animals, said whale researcher, Carlos Villavicencio Garayzar. As they swim along the coasts, he explained, they are confronted with contaminated waters spilling out from cities or industrial areas. Furthermore, gray whales can get trapped in the nets of fishing boats and can die if unable to get free.

WHALE DIVERSITY

Gray whales are not the only members of the species to journey south to Mexico in the winter, and Baja California Sur is not the only state to enjoy annual visits from the mammals. Nayarit state also hosts a winter colony of humpback whales, and this season, the Environmental Secretariat (Semarnat) is undertaking an effort to count the number of creatures migrating to Mexican waters.

Carlos Villar Rodr?guez, head of the Department of Natural Resources for Semarnat?s Nayarit office, explained that the procedure will employ still and video cameras to count humpback whale tails, and thus extrapolate a population figure.

"The tails of the humpback are like fingerprints of humans," he explained. "No two are the same."

It is estimated that these whales undertake an approximately 10,000-kilometer journey each year from Alaska to Nayarit, where they mate and breed.

They arrive slightly earlier than the gray whales - usually in early December - and they stay a little longer as well, until sometime in April.

capt. mike - 1-30-2006 at 10:58 AM

anyone know the proper term for a whale's (male) rigid member? and the size of a Grey's?

sorry.....slow day at the ol' HQ.... :light:

thought this would be fun.

i learned from Carlos at Kuyima who gives very fun pre-tour briefings.....
and is a natural latin "killer" with the ladies!

Debra - 1-30-2006 at 11:01 AM

Q numero uno: "Annoying"

Q numero dos: 50ft.

capt. mike - 1-30-2006 at 02:20 PM

Debra......Debra.......no, wrong!!

While it may become annoying to a female (cow?) whale....that's not what it's called. :lol:

as for size....50ft might be what the cows wish for, but no correcto. the animals are 50 ft yes in full length, but not the males' "thingies".

guess again dear. :rolleyes:

Ken Bondy - 1-30-2006 at 02:42 PM

Dork?

capt. mike - 1-30-2006 at 04:14 PM

ha! you got it Ken.
now , size? and yes......it matters. :biggrin:

now thats funny, ken

Keri - 1-30-2006 at 04:26 PM

I thought you were calling Capt. Mike a dork, then read it again and saw the question mark. it made me laugh anyway. thanks,k

Ken Bondy - 1-30-2006 at 04:53 PM

I would NEVER call Capt. Mike a dork, especially knowing what it means. Not exactly sure how I knew that. Must have been my misspent youth. As to size, it would be just a guess. I've seen a few in action in the lagoons but not at REALLY close range :spingrin:

.

OK as long as we're on that portion of the anatomy, what is the only male mammal that has an actual bone in its penis? Hint, it is called an "oosik". The bone, that is. Name the animal.

elgatoloco - 1-30-2006 at 05:18 PM

I am he as you are he as you are me
and we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun
see how they fly
I'm crying
Sitting on a cornflake
Waiting for the van to come
Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man you've been a naughty boy
you let your face grow long

I am the eggman
They are the eggmen
I am the...........
:biggrin:

capt. mike - 2-1-2006 at 04:49 AM

ok.....no body wants to venture a guess on the dork's size.... :light:

its about 3-5 inches in diameter and 7-9 feet long :wow:

according to the scientists who estimate such things....guess they don't cooperate with a full on examination during their "arousal" state! :lol:

Did you know each successful mating is a gang bang?
yep, 2 bulls on one cow. its a stability thang! :spingrin:

Bob and Susan - 2-1-2006 at 04:59 AM

mike ...you NEED your plane back!!!! :tumble:

6 inch challenged

Dave - 2-1-2006 at 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
Debra......Debra.......no, wrong!!

While it may become annoying to a female (cow?) whale....that's not what it's called. :lol:

as for size....50ft might be what the cows wish for, but no correcto. the animals are 50 ft yes in full length, but not the males' "thingies".

guess again dear. :rolleyes:

It's not her fault. Most women have difficulty in accurately determining length. It's a genetic thing.

Guerrero Negro / San Ignacio

bajajudy - 2-1-2006 at 11:55 AM

I am in Guerrero Negro right now and they are saying that there are over 800 whales in the lagoon right now. Lotsa tours going out of Malarrimo, where we had the best meal ever last night.
We were in San Ignacio yesterday at Kuyima office and they say that there are not many males this year for some reason. Mamas and babies only.
And for whoever it was who asked.....the road is still the same.....very bumpy. But well worth the trip.

capt. mike - 2-1-2006 at 12:06 PM

Dave.......yur crackin me up , man!! :cool:

A picture is worth a thousand words?

David K - 2-1-2006 at 04:04 PM

Capt. Mike, does this answer your question? :lol:

David K - 2-1-2006 at 04:08 PM

Oh... the Mike mentioned in the photo caption is Mike McMahan (of the famous Baja wall maps)... from his 1973 book 'There it is: Baja!'

capt. mike - 2-2-2006 at 05:11 AM

wow DK! amazing.....but it must have dried out or shrunk??!!! :lol:

Pompano - 2-2-2006 at 05:30 AM

While out fishing near Pt. Conception one day we noticed some whales moving erratically and motored over to take a closer look. It turned out to be 2 male finbacks and 1 female mating...rolling over all entwined together. It was a necessary helpful threesome event that was particularily awesome when one fellow rolled over on the surface and waved his mast....We respectfully saluted him.

I would show a photo but Felipa has it squirreled away somewhere.....