News
from Observation Post #2 April 21, 2008: Census: At the moment there are about 50 whales in the lagoon, reports Johnny Friday of Baja Ecotours. He sent the season's final reports and photos from guide/naturalist Adrienne DeLiso, who has now "migrated" back to the U.S.
March 30, 2008: Whales are really starting to make their way out of the lagoon. The last census on March 26 counted 47 Cow/Calf pairs (94) and only 14 singles. This totals 108 whales in the lagoon. Babies are huge! Many times guests cannot tell the difference between the Mama and Baby. Babies are still rolling on mom, and being quite rambunctious at times. A favorite game for them with our boats is to stay just out of reach for folks to pet them; they seem to enjoy being the center of attention! They are spending a lot more time away from Mom these days and we have seen many babies playing together with moms near by. We have had amazing days with two or even four pairs of whales around the pangas, playing and interacting with each other and with us. We have noted some of the earlier babies we spent lots of time with are gone. Many are so big and more capable; it won’t be long until they too head out on their first northern migration. The time has also come for me to say goodbye to the whales and head north myself. It’s been incredible. I hope to see them again next year! Adrienne DeLiso
March 18, 2008: Lots of whales have taken off for the journey north this past week. Our census reported 172 whales in the lagoon: 62 cow/calf pairs and the rest singles. We are not seeing much mating activity any more. We are seeing a lot more feeding (really snacking) than in the last couple of months. We watched two adult whales feed in the shallows near the reef the other day. They were in about 10 feet of water. They didn’t seem to mind our Panga, gently floating along beside them. They were lying on their sides with one pectoral flipper and part of a fluke exposed. Then gently they would roll up and breathe, then roll back on their side. It was so peaceful to watch. It was one of those rare almost windless days. See photo at right ( left side is pectoral flipper, right side is part of fluke). We are seeing lots of "friendlies" – almost every day! Adrienne DeLiso March 10, 2008: Hello from San Ignacio Lagoon! We had an interesting experience yesterday with a very “rambunctious” baby whale. She came to the boat for some interaction and let everyone pet her then she proceeded to spin our boat very quickly round and round! Some of the guests were frightened by her strength and how fast we were spinning! She was having a lot of fun doing this. Suddenly mom came and was if she scolded baby and took her away. Off they swam and we didn’t see them again the rest of the day. Babies are getting bigger and stronger. They are more comfortable coming to the boats and can be quite the attention hogs! Their flukes are getting so big! In the beginning they were cute floppy little flukes; now they are strong and powerful! (See photos, right.) Adrienne DeLiso March 5, 2008: Guide/naturalist Adrienne writes about a thin mom and her new calf: Greetings from San Igancio Lagoon! We have had some crazy north winds that prevented up from going out for a whole day. The lagoon was officially closed to whale watching, which is for the safety of both whales and people. Since then it's been wonderful: warm, beautiful, and less windy than normal. We
are seeing more friendly
whales
this past
week. One new cow/calf pair that I had not seen before
are very interested in the boat, yet would not
come close enough to touch. Sometimes, I prefer these encounters
as the whales circle and the baby plays with the boat, tossing
its head up out of the water and checking us out. . .then abruptly
swimming back to mom, and then repeating. This mom was very
skinny and has scars from her dorsal hump back into her knuckles.
These
are most likely tooth-rake marks from an Orca (see
photo).
She looked too thin, but this is often par for the course,
as a mom loses up to 30% of her fat from the time she travels
pregnant from the feeding grounds in the Bering Sea south to
the breeding and calving lagoons here. Then calving and feeding
the baby
also takes its toll on mom, who has not eaten a significant
amount of food since summer. This whale has also been seen
in the lagoon, before
according to the local Panga (boat) drivers. I will
send her photo to Cascadia Research in Washington for a proper
ID. March 1, 2008: Guide/naturalist Adrienne writes about a surge in numbers and the lateness of this season's whale events: Wow!
Our new census comes in at 223 whales in the lagoon! This is
better than last year at this same time. This is great news!
More whales, more activity; we are seeing mating behavior everywhere!
Yesterday we were watching several whales mating and at one point,
one of the whales did a huge tail slap! The sound it made across
the water was amazing. It was a pretty large fluke, most likely
the female! Feb. 27, 2008: Guide/naturalist Adrienne writes more about some especially friendly cow/calf pairs and single whales in the lagoon: We have been seeing lots more whales in the lagoon. You can hardly look any direction without seeing a whale spout or two. We have had some extreme tides and when the wind is blowing NW and the tide is flooding, it seems to make the whales a bit more active as we see lots of spy hopping and breaching too. We
have at least three super friendly cow/calf pairs and a few
single friendlys as
well. We are seeing lots of mating activity — splashing,
pectoral flippers and flukes a-flying! We even had a possibly
young
single female
use our boat as a block to her suitors! Feb
20, 2008: Guide/naturalist Adrienne writes about a
wonderful mother whale and her baby, Katy 2.5: It’s amazing to see the close bond between mother and
baby. We all are moved at how the baby whales slide across mom’s
back and are constantly touching mom. Sometimes when the baby
is at the side of the boat, mom is just
under the surface, watching with a cautious eye. We have watched
this same mom/calf pair when it was time for them to move
on; suddenly mom porpoised out of the water, dove with
her huge fluke next to the boat, then breached only once just
a little way out from the boats. Such an incredible display
of strength and protection for her calf! We all were in awe
of the power and beauty of this whale. Feb. 20: How many whales in this nursery lagoon? Here's the count so far! (Add the numbers to get the totals. (Hint: How many whales in a cow/calf pair?)
Click here to check your totals, and to compare with 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 seasons.
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