Pompano
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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This post does have a porpoise!
Porpoise have a purpose!....and it is to: ‘To make humans…and dogs…. gasp with wonder and awe.’
“The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it.” - Jacques Yves
Cousteau
Dolphin love to play catch-up in your boat wake...and we love them for it. Wahoooo!
Note: What's the strangest sight you've ever seen at sea!
Sometimes one finds a dead dolphin in Conception Bay...due to becoming tangled in nets mostly.
When this happens, it is best to make the most of it..ghastly?...naw, just making some light-hearted beach decor. Flipper would approve.
The northern half of the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) is home to the smallest..and most severely endangered ....porpoise. The
Vaquita.
Whales, dolphins and porpoise are marine mammals that are part of the taxonomic order called cetaceans, which has 78 known species.
The order is divided into baleen whales of the suborder Mysticeti, and toothed whales, suborder Odontoceti. Dolphins and porpoise are toothed whales.
Whales, dolphins and porpoises all fall under the order Cetacea. Within this order, there are two suborders, the Mysticeti, or baleen whales, and the
Odontoceti, or toothed whales.
If you consider that, all whales, dolphins and porpoises are really whales. However, these terms can also be used as a way to distinguish size among
species, with cetaceans longer than about 9 feet considered whales, and those less than 9 feet considered dolphins and porpoises.
Difference Between Dolphins and Porpoises
Bottlenose dolphins
The word porpoise has often been used colloquially to describe porpoises, dolphins and in some cases larger whales. However, the family Phocoenidae
are very different from dolphins in addition to being the smallest family of the order Cetacea. The difference between dolphins and porpoises is clear
in that members of this family have small flippers, lack the prominent beak associated with many dolphins and have a more triangular dorsal fin rather
than falcate. The teeth of porpoises are chisel shaped rather than conical as they are in most dolphins, and many species of porpoise frequent
inshore, comparatively shallow water. Much of the difference between dolphins and porpoises is clearly identifiable in the field along with certain
behavioural differences.
Dalls Porpoise…the largest of the porpoise family - photo taken off San Marcos Island
Killer Whale - Orca
Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world's most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals,
sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches (ten centimeters) long. They are known to grab seals right off the ice. They also
eat fish, squid, and seabirds.
Though they often frequent cold, coastal waters, orcas can be found from the polar regions to the Equator. There was a large pod of killers in Coyote
Bay in 1988, feeding on predators that were in turn feeding on the red crabs that filled our beaches back then....and if I ever figure out how to
insert a video here, I'll show them to you..what a sight they were!
Average life span in the wild:50 to 80 years
Size:23 to 32 ft (7 to 9.7 m)
Weight:Up to 6 tons (5,443 kg)
Orca size compared to human:
THANK NEPTUNE FOR THE SIGHTS WE SEE AT SEA….FINEST KIND!
“Man has always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much...the wheel, New York, wars and
so on...while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that
they were far more intelligent than man...for precisely the same reason.”
[Edited on 3-29-2012 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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BajaBruno
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Nice shots, Roger. All I ever seem to get is the splash after the plunge.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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Sallysouth
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Location: Capo Beach
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Great photos Pomp! They are so clear you can see their eyeballs.Love the pic of the tail, so close! Thanks!
Happiness is just a Baja memory away...
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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Cathy and I motored into about five acres of Vaquitas outside the Conception peninsula in our tin boat. We'd seen bottle nosed for years, and were
blown away by these guys. It was a penguin-like feeling!
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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gallesram
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They never seem to come over when I'm idle; they only show up when I'm zipping along. It would be pretty cool if they'd appear while we're skiing,
but that hasn't happened yet (maybe this summer).
Great shots Roger; thanks for those.
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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great shots .... they are inspirational without a shadow of a doubt.
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bajaboolie
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Location: Aptos, CA/Mulege
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Love the porpoise of this topic...I have been entertained and educated. I have very fond memories as a kid speeding along in our boat and having them
jump alongside us. If you have footage of orca in coyote bay, I'd love to see it! Do you have a YouTube account? Post a link!
Bajaboolie
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ursidae69
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Location: Youngsville, NM
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This thread made my day, thanks. 
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TheOldPirate
Newbie
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Registered: 5-25-2010
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Nice photos! The animal captioned as a "Dall's Porpoise" is definitely Orcinus orca, a Killer whale, and definitely the largest member of
the Delphinidae family (oceanic dolphins). Additionally, the second dolphin under the "Botlenosed dolphin" caption is a Long-beaked Common Dolphin,
Delphinus capensis.
The Old Pirate, Baja Rafe
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bacquito
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ursidae69
This thread made my day, thanks. |
Yes, I agree-very nice. 
bacquito
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by TheOldPirate
Nice photos! The animal captioned as a "Dall's Porpoise" is definitely Orcinus orca, a Killer whale, and definitely the largest member of
the Delphinidae family (oceanic dolphins). Additionally, the second dolphin under the "Botlenosed dolphin" caption is a Long-beaked Common Dolphin,
Delphinus capensis. |
Thanks for that input, TheOldPirate..and welcome to BajaNomads. Please jump in with something for us to enjoy.
Oddly, first time I posted that photo titled Killer Whale..Orca, I was corrected by an expert who said it was definetely a Dalls Porpoise..largest
member of the Porpoise family.
Now..expert no. 2 recorrects me and says it is back to an Orca..Killer Whale..largest of the sob's. Go figure?
Personally, I could care less about it's namenclature.
I don't like formal gardens too much, I prefer wild meadows.
This old truism comes to mind:
"The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing. "
Henceforth, that photo will be labeled..Killer Whale...a BMW...not to be confused with how Zulema described her Mexican husband when she said she just
got a new BMW. Big Mexican Weenie.
Well, that one probably will get me put on probation....but hey! 
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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