REALLY
Lost Gray Whale, or Pioneer?
Michael H. Smith, Director, Gray Whales Count
Photo: Dr.
Aviad Scheinin, IMMRAC
Occasionally
we see late southbound whales passing our California coast and we
wonder what that whale is thinking. It is likely a juvenile that does
not
know
what to think and is just trying to find more whales to point out the
correct path. On May 9, 2010, we found out about a southbound gray whale,
but this whale was not in the Santa Barbara Channel. This particular
whale
was by Tel-Aviv
... Israel, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Talk about a lost
whale! And, this whale will be talked about for quite a while.
Dr. Aviad Scheinin of the Israel
Marine Mammal Research & Assistance
Center was just as surprised as we folks in the Pacific region. They
got a report of a whale May 8-9 and when they came upon it, they thought
that it might be a sperm whale—a first for that area. It turns
out they had come upon a species even more unlikely for that region of
the
world:
a gray whale. Dr Scheinin reported the sighting on the marine mammal
listserv, and he included the images you see on this page. Astounding.
 |
 |
What
two clues in these photos help identify this as Eschrichtius
robustus, a
gray whale? (Click on photos.) Photos: Dr. Aviad Scheinin |
|
How Did It Get There? Some Guesses
Speculating
on the route this animal might have taken to get there would be crazy
without at least knowing the stock the whale
is from, western or eastern Pacific. But, this is a very crazy thing
to think about ...So, let's be crazy: Maybe this gray whale is from the
eastern Pacific stock, the ones that travel from Mexico to northern Alaska
along our
coast. And, maybe this whale was in the Arctic Sea searching for food;
and, while exploring new, ice-free waters, took off the wrong way when
it was time to migrate south to the lagoons of Baja California Sur, Mexico.
What if this whale did go east through the Northwest Passage and emerged
in the Atlantic along Greenland? If the gray whale did that, unlikely
as it may be, it must have followed the coast of Europe south to the
Mediterranean.
One
would think that traveling along the coast, the whale must have been
seen; but, like the scientists with Dr Scheinin, perhaps
it was misidentified
or not even thought about. Who would think it might be a gray whale
in the Atlantic ocean?
Questions: What Will Happen to this Whale?
We
do wonder what will happen to this whale attempting to get to Mexico
via the Suez Canal. Will it survive?
Where will it
go? Are there others? What do YOU think?
NOTE: Updates will be posted at the links below as they appear in the news.
Journal or Discussion Questions:
- Get out an atlas and find the locations named in the story. Discuss the possibilities Mr. Smith talked about in the article above, and in this article in Earth News. How do YOU think the whale got to Tel-Aviv?
- Follow this story on the link to Israel Marine Mammal Research & Assistance Center. What will they learn about this whale? How are they going about trying to find answers? Over time see if your predictions come true.
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