 |
KayakerAlan Brady is surprised by two humpback whales Oct. 25. Biologists believewhales have followed food closer to shore, leading them to feed just a milefrom land this year. (Paul Schraub / AP) |
A 200-poundman in a kayak has nothing on a 40-ton humpback whale hunting for breakfast,but that's not stopping dozens of sightseers from getting cozy with a pod thathas strayed unusually close to shore near Santa Cruz.
So far, noone's been hurt, but at least one sailboat was damaged this week when it strucka whale in the warm waters of Monterey Bay, according to the National MarineSanctuary there.
Both thesanctuary and the U.S. Coast Guard issued warnings Tuesday advising the publicto stay at least 100 yards away from the animals or risk a hefty fine - minimum$2,500 - for whale harassment. The Coast Guard plans to have vessels in thearea today to keep people a safe distance from the whales.
"Thesheer number of folks crowding around the whales is not only an issue for thewhales themselves, but also public safety," said Paul Michel,superintendent of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, who estimatedthat 100 people, most of them on kayaks or paddleboards, were in the waterslast weekend.
The pod inquestion is on its annual migration down to Mexico, where the whales will startbreeding during the winter months. The whales typically stop along theCalifornia coast to bulk up on anchovies, sardines and krill, but their feedinggrounds are usually several miles from the shore.
Followingthe fish
This year,biologists believe, weather conditions drove the anchovies closer to shore andthe whales followed the food, leading them to feed just a mile from land. Thewhales got national attention last week when a photographer with the Santa CruzCounty Conference and Visitors Council got a lucky shot of a kayaker surprisedby a pair of them breaching just a few feet away.
Aside fromthe fact that the humpback whales are wild animals and really, really big -they're about as long as a school bus - biologists said it's especiallyimportant that people stay away from them now, while they're engaged in what'sknown as "lunge feeding." That's when the whales drop their lower jaw90 degrees and fly through the water just below the surface, catching hugemouthfuls of fish and whatever else gets in their way.
"Whalesare pretty darn good at knowing where people are, even while they'refeeding," said biologist Don Croll, a professor in ecology and evolutionarybiology at UC Santa Cruz. "But that doesn't mean a kayaker couldn't getwrapped up in the commotion. You could get yourself really hurt if you've gotseveral tons of an animal on top of you."
Good timeto watch
Still, it'snot like people need to avoid the water altogether. In fact, whale enthusiastssaid now is a particularly good time for whale-watching - as long as it's atleast 100 yards away.
Michel saidhe's worried that, aside from the potential danger to humans, all of the peoplecrowding the whales might interrupt their feeding patterns, depriving them ofthe energy they need to continue to Mexico. He said most of the whales weresuspiciously absent on Sunday, and he wondered if they hadn't grown wary of thepeople.
But Crollsaid he doubts all of the human attention will cause any physical orpsychological damage to the whales. He's gotten close to hungry humpbacks whileresearching them, and "once whales lock into food, there's not much thatcan persuade them from eating," he said.
He hasn'tgone out to watch them recently, although during an interview from his officeoverlooking Monterey Bay on Tuesday, he mentioned he could see them outside hiswindow. Sounding a bit sheepish, and careful to warn that people should keeptheir distance, Croll said amateur whale-watchers have a pretty rareopportunity right now - and one that won't last long, since the whales willalmost certainly be gone in a few weeks.
"Lungefeeding is probably one of the largest biomechanical events on the planet. It'sa really, really great thing for people to see," he said. "They couldget hurt if they get too close. They also could have the thrill of a lifetime."
E-mail ErinAllday at eallday@sfchronicle.com.
Related Article:
"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)
