Whale Primer, With Special Attention To The California Gray Whale - free ebook by Theodore J. Walker

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Whale Primer, With Special Attention To The California Gray Whale

Theodore J. Walker

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WHALE PRIMER

WHALE PRIMER

With Special Attention to THE CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE by Theodore J. Walker Published by the Cabrillo Historical Association 1962 Produced in cooperation with the National Park Service Copyright© Cabrillo Historical Association 1962 Second Printing 1965 Third Printing 1967 Fourth Printing 1969 Migration routes of the California gray whale. The Korean herd may now be extinct....

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Introduction

Introduction

The WHALE PRIMER provides a brief introduction to one of nature’s most interesting creations, the whale. The principal star of the handbook is the California gray whale which in recent years has become a major tourist attraction in southern California. Notwithstanding the extreme interest, no concise interpretation of the migration has been prepared. Although there is a tremendous number of technical and popular writings about whales, there is still great mystery about them. Whales carry on prac

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Two General Migration Routes

Two General Migration Routes

The migration of the California gray whale is one of the most remarkable natural history events in the world today. The majority of these whales journey southward just off the shore of southern California and Lower California during January and February. Although a few early migrants may pass San Diego early in December, they are not abundant until Christmas. An occasional straggler can be sighted in March. Only 20 years ago this species was so rare, that little hope was held that it could ever

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Whale Waters—Summer and Winter

Whale Waters—Summer and Winter

One cannot help but be impressed with the remarkable utilization of time by the whales whose lives seem to be divided into two principal seasons, a summer feeding period and a winter period of reproduction. Each of these major activities is preceded by a tremendously long migration. Nearly half of every year must be devoted to this activity. Considering the extreme length of the migration, whales cannot wander aimlessly or carelessly. Whales which summer in the Antarctic continue to do so as do

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Feeding—Filter Whales

Feeding—Filter Whales

Whales do not feed extensively while migrating. For the most part there is not time enough, nor is the food plentiful enough to make it worth the effort. However, in the polar seas the whale’s food is plentiful enough to discolor the water. On close examination, the discoloration proves to be caused by thousands of tiny shrimps which are very slender and less than one-half inch in length. These creatures congregate in swarms near the surface to feed on microscopic plants known as diatoms. The wh

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Breathing Adaptations

Breathing Adaptations

Not only have whales become completely aquatic, but they have been able to eliminate nearly all the design features which were necessary for life on land. Only the retention of air breathing remains, and this does not seem to be much of a hardship. There has been a great improvement in the conservation of oxygen so that really long dives are possible. The subtlety of this accomplishment is only partially understood by scientists. Apparently, diving mammals are able to shut down those bodily acti

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Swimming Adaptations

Swimming Adaptations

The most essential features needed for the successful invasion of the marine habitat were those necessary for efficient propulsion. Fish, eons before, had solved the hydrodynamic equations necessary for movement through such a resistive medium. This solution required a streamlined form with a tail for propulsion, placed at the very end of the body. Extra fins were employed for maneuvering and for balancing. Whales, too, have reached the same solution, and man, when he finally develops sufficient

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Porpoises and Dolphins

Porpoises and Dolphins

Whales are known technically as cetaceans (pronounced seh-TAY-shuns); so also are the various porpoises and dolphins which are mostly eaters of fish. These are certainly the most numerous of all the cetaceans, making up in numbers for their small size (6 to 8 feet). A few species range between 20 and 30 feet. Porpoises and dolphins congregate around schools of fish. Therefore fishermen are constantly on the lookout for a sight of them. Since not infrequently the porpoises break the surface of th

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Squid Eaters

Squid Eaters

The bottlenose whales are nearly toothless, feeding on squid like their close relatives, the sperm whales. Porpoises and dolphins possess many sharp conical teeth on both the upper and lower jaws, although the narwhal which is related to them, breaks the rule by being toothless save for the tusklike canine of the male. In this instance either the right or left tooth elongates to produce an 8-foot spear. The other tooth does not break the gum, and this is the condition found in the female where b

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Filter Whales

Filter Whales

The whalebone whales seem to have undertaken two different lines of specialization in feeding: The right whales developed an enormous head with a very large filter plate, whereas the rorquals are much more streamlined with a small filter plate. The ability of the latter to gather food is insured by the pleated throat. The right whales lack a dorsal fin and are decidedly less streamlined. The rorquals have a dorsal fin. There are two species which do not exactly fit in either group. The humpback

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Heat Conservation

Heat Conservation

As whales extended their operations into the icy waters of polar regions or into the cold waters of the ocean depths, they had to develop means of keeping warm. Anyone who has attempted to swim in cold water knows how quickly one loses his body heat and becomes chilled. Whales minimize the heat loss by accumulating a thick layer of fat just below the surface of the skin. The fatty layer, called blubber, not only keeps the whale warm, but it also provides for food storage. It has already been str

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Buoyancy

Buoyancy

Another aspect to the extensive deposits of fat is that these tissues are lighter than water and help counteract the heaviness of the whale’s body so that with the assistance of the lungs neutral buoyancy is achieved. The fat is accumulated in between the muscle strands, and in fact, in every available nook and cranny....

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Food Storage

Food Storage

Much of this fat is drawn upon for food. Whenever a whale is existing on its fatty tissue, acetone is one of the waste products which must be eliminated in the breath. This pungent material makes the breath very strong and noticeable at these times. Certainly among whales, there is no stigma attached to being fat or having halitosis. Ordinarily fatty tissues only accumulate when there is a surplus of food over the needs of the animal. You might suspect that whales would need to stockpile fat fir

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Sexual Maturity

Sexual Maturity

Whales mature sexually between their third and seventh years. Toothed cetaceans attain sexual maturity later than filter-feeding whales. A blue whale is sexually mature at 5 years, whereas porpoises require at least 7 years. Most filtering whales are sexually mature in 2 or 3 years. Whales are not fully grown at sexual maturity, but they continue to grow for years. In most mammals growth stops with sexual maturity. Female whales generally can be expected to produce a baby every other year, for t

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Life Span

Life Span

It is not known for certain how long a whale may live after completing its growth. At the present time, commercially important species seldom attain physical maturity before being captured. Many whales which are captured are measured for scientific study. Such measurements also keep the whalers from taking undersized juveniles. Whales apparently do not live to be very old. Fifty years appears to be the best current estimate of a life span. Back of a gray whale showing barnacles and barnacle scar

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Whale Intelligence

Whale Intelligence

Whales are apparently very intelligent animals. Whalers have remarked how difficult it is to approach whales which have previously escaped. The gray whales were observed actually avoiding the coast after shore whaling had been carried out for a few seasons. Animal trainers have found the toothed whales particularly apt pupils, and these animals are the stellar attraction of the various oceanaria....

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Sight

Sight

Little is known, however, about the capabilities of the various sensory organs. Certainly the eyes are very important and are effective under water. It is not likely that the eye is very effective out of water, even though whales do elevate the head out of the water for a look around. The behavior has been appropriately called “spyhopping,” and it is manifested usually in the ice floes. Killer whales are believed to search the sea’s surface and the edge of the icebergs for seals and birds....

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Hearing

Hearing

Whales appear to have very acute hearing. The report of a whaling gun will alarm whales which have previously tolerated the whaling vessel close aboard. Whalers have noted that in very foggy weather whales are much more difficult to approach because of the increased sensitivity to noise. The toothed cetaceans which are gregarious are capable of a great variety of vocalizations. Much of this is ultrasonic to man and it has been suggested that these emissions are used like man’s sonar for finding

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Smell

Smell

The sense of smell is not important to whales, and the organ was abandoned when the nostrils were shifted to the back of the head and modified for diving. Although man may never be able to test whales experimentally for their sensual acuities, it is quite apparent that they are fully aware of their environment. They clearly recognize the environmental signposts which guide them to and from their various areas. Oceanographers are not nearly as adept in knowing where they are on the ocean. Whales

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Habits

Habits

Filtering whales, unlike the gregarious porpoises and dolphins, seldom school. Even when they appear to be abundant in a limited area, they have congregated for feeding and not for social interaction. Toothed cetaceans, on the other hand, are generally sociable. The sperm whale travels in large groups of females dominated by a single bull whale. The other males have been driven away and the victorious male exercises control of the harem only as long as he wins these contests. Once the dominant m

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Killer Whales

Killer Whales

Whales, by virtue of their size and speed, are not preyed upon by other animals. The killer whale, however, has the size and inclination. Generally, it is content to capture seals, sea birds, and fishes, and it does not range too far from this prey. There have been isolated reports of killer whales attacking the gray whale. The gray whale is described as being very disturbed whenever a killer whale appears. On the coast of Siberia the gray whale will hide in very shallow water and if cornered is

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Parasites

Parasites

If whales generally lead a charmed life with respect to predators, they still have their share of parasites both external and internal. Their huge bodies are ideal platforms for the growth of barnacles which have specialized for this unusual habitat. Another very annoying skin parasite is the whale louse, which is a flattish small crustacean which clings by claws to the delicate skin. The digestive tract of the whale provides a wonderful habitat for round worms and tapeworms. Like their host, th

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Whale Abnormalities

Whale Abnormalities

Whales are found with healed broken bones which must have been incurred by fighting and other collisions. The skin of whales is mottled with scars which were produced by parasites and by fighting. Toothed whales are especially scarred from the raking by the teeth of an adversary during battles for dominance. For at least 5 centuries, man has preyed on the whale. In recent times navies of several nations have been alarmed by unidentified underwater objects which cannot easily be distinguished fro

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Inadequate Knowledge of Whales

Inadequate Knowledge of Whales

Whales have been extensively described both in popular and scientific writings. However, their story is by no means complete or correct. It will be many years before all the information can be obtained on these animals which range the wide oceans where man must study them under great disadvantage. Until man has the underwater mobility and maneuverability of whales, he will have to be content with surmise and interpretations based on limited observations. There is a great deal known about the ana

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Evolutionary Place

Evolutionary Place

It should be kept in mind, however, that this whale is the most primitive of the living baleen-bearing whales, and it seems to represent the point in the evolutionary sequence from which the two main groups diverged. The California gray whale is the sole survivor of a family of whales which in past eons was represented by many species. It has a smallish head with a limited filtering mechanism. Its dependence on foods which are found only near to shore is considered further evidence that it is pr

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Geographic Distribution

Geographic Distribution

Today the species is restricted to two distinct populations existing on opposite sides of the Pacific. One herd summers in the Sea of Okhotsk, migrating southward to Korea where, in the open bays, calving takes place in January, February and March. The larger population summers off the coast of Siberia and Kamchatka, migrating clear across the Pacific Ocean to California and then south to the breeding lagoons near Bahia de Sebastian Viscaino, situated on the outer coast of Baja California. A few

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Shore Habits

Shore Habits

Generally speaking, shallow water is dangerous for the larger whales, other than the gray and right whales. Strandings of the other species do occur, which can be interpreted to mean that these whales are not afraid of shallow water. However, when they strand they die. The cause of stranding is difficult to determine. Perhaps the victim is sick and drifts ashore. Most strandings occur during severe storms which quickly obscure the bottom features by stirring up the sand and mud. The stranding of

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Scientific Description

Scientific Description

It has already been mentioned that the gray whale was described by Professor Cope in 1868-69. The scientific name by which he tagged it, Rhachianectes glauca , describes the fact that the whale is blue-gray in color, and that it frequents rocky reefs. Because the species did not resemble any other whale, he placed it in a separate family, the Rhachianectidae. Cope was not aware that paleontologists had found and described fossils of whales which were very similar to the gray whale. Of course, th

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Reaction to Whaling

Reaction to Whaling

The California gray whale is known by other common names, such as “Koku Kujira” of the Japanese, which means “the devil fish.” This indicates the cleverness of the gray whale and the dangers associated with hunting it. Whalers universally considered this species the most difficult to whale and the only one which might charge the boat. Gray whales certainly seemed to learn quickly the dangers to them from whaling. Captain Scammon considered this species the most interesting, giving it top billing

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How Do They Sleep?

How Do They Sleep?

One question about whale behavior that remains somewhat unanswered is—how much rest do whales require? There have been indications that the California gray whale in the lagoons of Lower California may rest a good deal. However, the question of sleep during the long migration or on the feeding grounds, has not been answered, and as yet attempts to determine this have been hardly more than preliminary tries. In order to succeed at this venture, observers must be able to remain close enough to the

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Migration Groupings

Migration Groupings

The California gray whale is not believed to be particularly gregarious. The groupings observed at the lagoons are thought to be due to the limited areas which are available for mating and calving. There is some indication that they form groups during their migrations. Russian observers say that early in autumn groups gather and start out on the migration. The Japanese have noted groups of moderate size remaining together during the crossing of the Bering Sea. As yet no one has attempted to trai

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Breaching

Breaching

Occasionally the gray whale will burst out of the water at about a 45 degree angle, and will turn over, falling back with a tremendous splash. This is called breaching, and its significance is not known. Although it is considered part of the courtship behavior, this is difficult to reconcile with the observation that it is more frequently displayed by solitary migrants. Whales may breach more than once, and in fact, one was observed to jump repeatedly, as many as 25 times within an hour’s passin

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Whalers as Explorers

Whalers as Explorers

History tends to stress the great explorers who discovered new worlds and the larger islands of the Pacific. However, ships cannot with full safety, ply the seven seas until every island and shoal has been found and charted, and ships cannot safely venture near any shore until the adjoining waters have been systematically charted. The principal discoverers of these danger spots have been the whalers who patiently combed so much of the oceans in their search for whales. Every island has on it the

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Prehistoric Whaling

Prehistoric Whaling

Whaling was practiced long before historic times. The coastal Eskimos of the arctic Americas and of Greenland and Spitzenberg practiced whaling. Whales were approached in skin-covered boats and even from the edge of ice floes. These peoples are differentiated ethnically on the basis of the variations in their whaling techniques, in their whaling gear and in their religious preparations for whaling. It took great courage to whale in such frigid waters where an overturning meant death. It is not s

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Historic Whaling

Historic Whaling

Commercial whaling began in Spain during the Middle Ages. At that time the black right whale was plentiful along the coast of the Basque province, and it provided an ideal quarry because it could be sighted from lookout towers along the coast and it was not difficult to approach. Equally important, these whales floated at death so they could be pulled ashore. They were prized for their oil, meat, and the baleen which was sold throughout Europe. The Biscayan whalers gradually reduced the local po

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Modern Whaling

Modern Whaling

By the 20th century whaling was again possible because of new uses for whaling products. Chemistry has succeeded in finding new uses for whale oil. Fat derivatives such as soaps, margarines and a few other products owe their abundance and low cost to the whaling industry. Packing house technology has been applied to the butchering of whales so that the entire animal has many uses. Tasty meats are finding their way into the diets of many countries and the tougher, less tasty parts are ground and

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California Gray Whale

California Gray Whale

No account of whaling would be complete without mention of the shore and lagoon whaling of the California gray whale. There were 11 shore whaling stations scattered along the coast of California from San Simeon to San Diego, which had two stations. This whaling dates back to the gold rush days of California. It was not an uncommon experience for a whaling ship to come from the east and then to lose the entire crew in San Francisco before they could get on into the North Pacific to whale. Althoug

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Gray Whale Protected

Gray Whale Protected

In 1937 the International Whaling Commission declared the gray whale a protected species and forbade its members from whaling it. The population has recovered noticeably in the past 10 years, but it is too early to predict when it will level off. In 1959 it was estimated that the total population was somewhere between 3 and 5 thousand. It is hoped that the whaling nations will be content to honor their gentlemen’s agreement to protect it until recovery is complete....

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Esthetic

Esthetic

Already the whale has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of Californians and tourists who have been thrilled to see such an animal. Currently each season excursion boats are transporting visitors on a 2-hour excursion practically out onto the backs of the whales. It is hoped that the pleasure which it offers man will transcend the brief monetary profit which might accrue to a few whalers. It would indeed be shortsighted to let commercial interests deprive man of such a unique whale which can b

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Scientific

Scientific

There is real need to protect the gray whale for scientific studies. The principal problem in the study of populations of whales is to learn how large the population is and what are the various forces which limit its size. Such knowledge would make it possible for the industry to decide how many whales could be taken each season without reducing the population. The concept of taking only those whales which would overpopulate the habitat is an attractive one, and this would be in the long run, mo

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Commercial

Commercial

There is no doubt that the whaling industry will resume the harvest of the California gray whale once it has recovered. This is indeed unfortunate as the species is neither abundant nor large enough to provide much profit. Certainly history will repeat itself and the grand spectacle of the California gray whale migration will require another thirty or more years to repeat itself. The future status of the California gray whale may not necessarily have the same fortunate outcome, as the whaling in

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Natural Population Controls

Natural Population Controls

Conservationists should remember that nature has wisely designed each species of plant and animal with a built-in margin of safety; namely, a surplus of young which will repopulate the species from periods of extreme adversity. Yet these surpluses must somehow usually be eliminated lest the species overpopulate its habitat and destroy its own sustenance. The controls which limit the population are many and the population existing from year to year is the statistical average of these many control

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Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy is another very useful statistic for population studies. The whaling industry has no easy way of finding this out because whaling never gives an individual whale the chance to attain old age. Perhaps we can eventually determine life expectancy for the gray whale if it can continue to be protected from whaling. By counting the number of babies produced each year, and knowing the life expectancy, We might indirectly obtain the number of whales which die before they have realized th

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Age Determination

Age Determination

The problem of aging whales is an important one, and one to which much thought has been given. Actually, it is desirable to know at what age sexual maturity occurs; at what age physical maturity; at what age reproduction is no longer possible, and lastly, the age at death. In addition, we need to know the gestation period and the average number of pregnancies of which the female is capable. Many of these statistics can be obtained from the examination of a freshly killed whale. Such age determin

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Distribution and Population Rise

Distribution and Population Rise

The whaling industry spends a few weeks before the whaling season and at the end, hunting whales with a much lighter gun which implants a numbered cylinder deep in the skin of the whale. Each whale so marked is logged as to the species and the latitude and the longitude, and lastly, the date. Should the marked whale be processed in any succeeding season, a second entry is completed giving the date and place of capture. These records are used to determine the migration routes and the degree of in

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Appendix

Appendix

Scientific names of all North American cetaceans with common names most in use. Maximum size indicated. Region: (A) Atlantic Ocean, (P) Pacific Ocean, (C) Circumpolar...

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