Look for These Flags on State Street, then follow
them to the sea to have some fun
Eschrichtius robustus is the
only species found in the Exchrichtidae family of baleen whales. Ranging, for
the most part, in the North Pacific, the Gray Whale was once present in the
North Atlantic as well. The whale is mottled gray (considered to be the
scruffiest of the great whales) with numerous white, yellow or orange patches of
barnacles and parasites which allow for easy identification. Grays grow to a
large size. Male gray whales are usually smaller than females, averaging
forty-two feet in length. Females reach an average of over 47 feet in length
weighing-in at over 70,000 pounds.
During the 19th century,
whalers discovered the Gray Whales Baja, California breeding lagoons and hunted
them to the brink of extinction for their oil (each whale yielded 30+ barrels of
oil, which sold for over $30 a barrel in 1855 -- $1245 a barrel today's
dollars!). Legally protected since 1946, gray whales have made comeback to
approximately 21,000 individuals, a figure
believed to match the 19th Century pre-whaling numbers. In 1993 the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) removed the Gray Whale from the Endangered
Species List.
The Gray Whale is probably the
most widely known whale because its annual migration takes it past the highly
populated west coast of the United States. This 10,000 + migration, from the
Artic Circle of Alaska and Siberia to balmy shores of western Mexico is one of
the longest known
migrations of any mammal.
Gray Whales lack a dorsal fin
and are adapted to bottom-feeding but they occasionally eat schooling fish,
krill, and even kelp. This is the only baleen whale known to feed by scooping up
large mouthfuls of bottom sediment straining the mud for food. This diet must be
good because Gray Whales average a 40+ year lifespan (some live over 60 years)
and reach maturity after only six years.
Man is the Gray Whale's
primary predator. Orcas and large sharks have been known to attack Gray Whales
by attaching themselves to fins tiring the giants out and then moving in for the
kill. For more information on Gray Whales see the links below. If you would like
to link your Gray Whale Web page to this site click
here.
GRAY
WHALE LINKS
Gray
Whale - San Francisco State University
...12/2/99 The Biogeography of The Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
by......Eschrichtius robustus Introduction: The Gray Whale,
Eschrichtius...
Instituto
Nacional de Ecología
...Conservation / Protection of the GrayWhale Chronology of
Legal...
...1993 World Population of the GrayWhale Source: SEMARNAP,
INE,.
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Annual Santa Barbara Whale Festival Every year for one weekend in March
Look for These Flags on State Street, then follow
them to the sea to have some fun
Two full days of fun, food, arts and crafts! There will be entertainment for
the entire family - storytelling, presentations, and the official whale
information-stations! Marine artists will be present and displaying their work.
Santa Barbara Whale Festival Vacation Packages are available as well. For more
information visit the website at http://www.sbwhalefestival.com <http://www.sbwhalefestival.com/>
, phone: 805-897-3187 or email: smilelady@earthlink.net
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