Gray Whale Migration Update: April 25, 2012 |
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The cow-and-calf phase of the migration is now a steady parade. Post #8 reported the biggest single-day count since 2004! Varvara's tag is still transmitting; where is she now? Fourth graders share their photo essay to showcase just how big these gray whales are!
This Week's Update Includes:
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Image of the Week | |||||||||||||||||||
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News: Whales, Whales, Whales! | ||||||||||||||||||||
The monumental migration continues with high numbers and wonderful stories in this best-ever season! We're excited, too, about Varvara, the tagged Western Pacific gray whale now northwest of Unimak Pass (Post #18 on our map). She's still plowing northward, through chunks of floating ice. Go, Varvara!
From California to Alaska, the migrating whales draw crowds to the beaches. A Kodiak, Alaska, whalewatcher shares a short video clip of returning whales. Twelve cow/calf pairs were reported close in off Bodega Head (Sonoma County, CA) on April 24. A viewer in Pacifica, CA watched grays pass for two hours on April 20, describing it as "Incredible!" Official Calf Count: Scientific Research Site Counting the Whales Passing California: WOW! Thrilling numbers come from Post #6, where the April 24 count of 15 cow/calf pairs put their count up to 100 northbound calves for the season! On Earth Day they were entertained by a cow that released a bubble blast, and her calf raised its pectoral fin into the air. The calf laid on its mom's back. But the biggest news from ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project Director Alisa Schulman-Janigert is: "We have already surpassed our final gray whale counts for last season...We have spotted 89 of our 100 northbound cow/calf pairs since April 9: 34 (of these 89 calves) in the past 3 days! These are our highest northbound calf counts in many years: last season we ENDED our census on May 15 with 110 cow/calf pairs—and we considered that to be a very good season!" She wonders: "Could we be on a record pace for cow/calf pairs? ...Our highest northbound calf count (over 28 seasons) was 222. Since we haven't hit the definitive cow/calf peak yet, we may just approach that record count!" See fun details of whale behaviors on the Field Notes page for #6 and stay tuned! Meanwhile:
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Slideshow: Big As Life: Our Gray Whale Poster | ||||||||||||||||||||
We know that gray whales are BIG. How big is big? A group of fourth graders wanted to showcase the length of a gray whale in a BIG way. They researched the facts and created a life-size poster! This slideshow is their story. Use their photo essay to inspire research. Challenge your students to create their own "BIG as Life" projects to showcase facts they learn about gray whales: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tracking the Migration: Using Daily Data |
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"We are nearing the peak of our cow/calf migration phase. Counts may increase slightly, stay nearly the same, or begin to drop over the next week," explains Alisa Schulman-Janiger. Add up
the totals for this 2-week report period and the last 2-week report
period. Compare the totals and summarize. Predict
trends you will see in the next two weeks and see what happens.
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The FINAL gray whale migration update will be posted on May 9, 2012. |
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