#TBT to 1985 when we whale-comed a crew of star-trekking time travelers. Happy 50th Anniversary, Star Trek! George and Gracie say “Hi!”
When Star Trek IV hit theaters, humpback whale populations were low, having been hunted to the brink of extinction before a hunting moratorium was introduced in 1966. But thanks to conservation efforts, these whales have made huge strides towards recovery, so much so that nine of the 14 distinct humpback populations were recently taken off the Endangered Species List. Live long and prosper, humpback whales!
WATCH: Brad Rich found himself in the middle of a humpback whale feeding frenzy in waters near Seward, Alaska – and his audible excitement over the event makes it even better.
I reblogged because of the audio, he makes me happy how happy he is :D
i’m looking up whales for a project on wikipedia and do you know what this PIECE OF JUNK page “list of cetaceans” says for the whales they don’t have neat drawings of
You never know what a day on the Monterey Bay will bring!
Gray whales migrate through Monterey Bay on their way to feed in Alaska after breeding in the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. Thanks to staffer Jasmine, we got some gray-t video of a whale of a good time spotted from our back deck!
This particular mom and calf came in on the near-side of the kelp forest in 30 feet/10 meters of water— just over half of mom’s full size! After being born in the warm waters of the Baja Peninsula, this is the calf’s first trip north through the bay.
Mom was being very cautious, hugging the coastline to hide in the thick kelp forest from the hungry orcas patrolling the area. After a few minutes, this new gray whale family ventured off on their first and only 16,000 mile/26,000 kilometer round-trip journey together.
Even though this video shows a peaceful moment for mom and calf, traveling through the bay is perilous this time of year. Not every calf has been quite as lucky as this one. Lots of orcas have arrived to hunt young calves, as a part of the ocean’s plus-sized circle of life.
In fact, we witnessed the other side of this story from the back deck last week, as you can see in the raw Periscope feed of a pod of orcas hunting a baby gray whale:
The wild Monterey Bay is a never-ending source of heart-warming encounters and humbling natural events. As we work to help conserve the world ocean, being able to witness the pulse of the planet from our back deck reminds us of the natural world we are a part of, and not separate from.
