March 18, 2013: Meet "Z-7"
Observation Post #6: Point Vicente, Los Angeles, California, USA

"The highlight of our day was our 24th gray whale (in our 17th sighting): we named it "Z-7" because of the shape of the two large white scars on the right side of its head; it also had a small white spot near its knuckles in the middle of its back. We first spotted its head sticking up near our kelp line; then it surfaced with its head held high and kelp dangling out of its partially open mouth, showing a bit of its yellow baleen: it may have been grabbing a snack, pulling off creatures like crabs, shrimp, and sea slugs that live on the kelp. Then it headed slowly along the kelp line; some Bottlenose Dolphin approached Z-7 and played with the whale: one dolphin surfaced nearly on its rostrum! Even its fluking was unique, as it turned onto its left side and rolling its pointed flukes in the air!

"It is very tough to get ID photos from our site; we are located 125 feet above sea
level, and our observation post on the Pt. Vicente Interpretive Center's patio is set
back from the water a bit. Also, our nearshore kelp bed line is MASSIVE—especially
this year, which means that the whales pass by further offshore."

—Alisa Schulman-Janiger

Click here to see video of Z-7 by ACS/LA Gray Whale Census observer Gregg Gentry.