Gray whales have been sighted as far north as Washington State according to students in Mr. Harness' Class at Grass Lake Elementary in Kent, Washington. Here's their message: "The gray whales are running the West Coast now and there is a sighting in the Puget Sound near Tacoma. A gray whale was spotted there yesterday, Sunday March 17." (wharness@kent.wednet.edu)
Another gray whale report arrived last week from someone who left the Journey North office for a little vacation:
To: Journey North Students
From: Elizabeth Donnelly
After weeks and weeks of waiting for spring to come to Minnesota, my son and I decided we'd waited long enough. So, we escaped for a few days and headed out to Santa Barbara, California. While there, we joined a whale watching trip aboard the Condor, the vessel whose crew has been sharing their gray whale observations with us!
It was such fun to meet the crew after reading their reports. We met Captains Laura Tritch and Fred Benko. They said to say hello to you all and were happy to know you're enjoying their whale sightings. (Of course we'd all rather be the ones on board the Condor!) Also on board was Dr. Woodhouse of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. He's doing a research study of gray whale migration based on the sightings collected by the Condor.
Only 10 minutes after leaving the Santa Barbara harbor we saw the first "blow" of gray whales. Slowly and carefully, so as not to disturb the whales, the vessel approached until we were just 200 yards behind them. For a half an hour, we traveled in pace with the whales, moving only 3-5 miles per hour. The whales' diving patterns were just as I'd read in a book. Every 2-3 minutes they surfaced briefly for air. This happened about 2-3 times before they took a final dive and went under for 5 minutes or more. As if to signal good-bye, the whales' tails appeared briefly at the surface before the last dive.
I was amazed to realize they could hold their breath for so long! Few people can swim underwater for more than a minute. Imagine lungs with enough air to sustain those huge bodies underwater. However, the people on board the Condor seemed to hold their breath just as long, waiting in anticipation of each whale's next breath.
In addition to their great size, I was impressed by how very slowly they travel-- not much faster than you can walk. It was hard to imagine the time it would take to reach their destination in the Bering Sea. Perhaps the most powerful memory is the slow, steady rhythm of their lives. Breathing and diving, up for air and back down again. Travelling day after day, night after night, year after year, up and down the coast, from Baja to the Bering Sea and back again.
These whales were juveniles as told by their 20 foot length. The Condor's crew is now waiting to see the first mother-calf pair of the season. The gray whale calves were just born in Baja, Mexico in January and are on their first journey north. They're expected in the Santa Barbara area during the month of April--and killer whales are often seen at the same time, attempting to prey on the young calves.
The next day we visited Malibu and climbed up onto a big sandy promontory where we spent several hours watching the ocean for whales. After watching and waiting for quite some time, we finally saw the familiar spouting and a fleeting view of a whale's body at the surface. Suddenly, we heard whistling and cheering behind us. A whole group of school children who live in Santa Barbara had climbed up the hill and sighted the whales the same moment we did.
Since that day, I've been thinking about those whales often and wondering where they are. So, how about a Challenge Question?
Challenge Question # 58
"If gray whales migrate at 5 miles per hour, when will the whales we saw on March 18th in Santa Barbara, California reach:
a) San Francisco Bay
b) The U.S. & Canadian border
(Measure to the Straight of Juan de Fuca, between Washington
and British Columbia.)
c) The Bering Sea
(Measure to the Unimak Pass, near Cold Bay, Alaska)"
Thank you for tracking the migration of these whales in your imagination! I can't wait to hear where you think they are!
How to Respond to Challenge Question # 58:
1. Send an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line write: Challenge Question #58
3. In the Body of your message, give your answer!
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