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 Travel & Outdoors | March 2006 
The Friendly Grey Whale - Eschrichtius Robustus
 Griffin Page - PVNN
| | Kissing a Grey Whale Calf (Photo: Bernadette Bezy) | 
| | Closed eye of a Grey whale while being caressed (Photo: Monachí) | 
| | Monday's Grey whale showing its baleens (Photo: Eduardo Lugo) | 
| | Monday's Grey whale's fluke (Photo: Eduardo Lugo) |
Who could have guessed that February 28th would end up having such meaning for me. This year, I got to be the first to witness the rare visit of a fabulous Grey Whale, right here in our beautiful Bay of Banderas. On that same day, 4 years ago, I got the honor of kissing a Grey Whale calf in Magdalena Bay in the Baja California Sur. An unforgettable moment, I can assure you.
Last Monday, at around 9:30 am, as we were enjoying some Bottlenose dolphins playing near the mouth of the Ameca River, my captain "aka Checke" saw a whale near the coast. We'd been watching the dolphins for 15 or 20 minutes and so we headed straight for the shore line.
Even from afar, through the glare of the sun upon the water, I could tell it wasn't a Humpback; our frequent visitors in the winter months. I saw the knuckles and thought: "A Grey whale? Can it be?" I was really excited! In 4 years of guiding whale watching tours, I had never witnessed a Grey here.
I have been told that they rarely come here anymore, not since the mid 1800's when the whale hunts began, nearly extinguishing both species. Ship logs of the whalers of that time report both Greys and Humpbacks in this Bay. I have been told that they are now only seen here once every 4-6 years.
Let me take this opportunity to tell you a little about these magnificent creatures. Grey Whales are often called the friendly whales for their sociable behavior towards humans. Some of them will come right up to a boat and float there, waiting to be petted. As you reach down and gently stroke their smooth barnacled flesh, their eyes will close in what appears to be pleasure.
After nearly being completely extinguished by human's violent hunts for their oil (used for lamps and machine lubrication,) their baleens (used to make women's corsets,) their skin and their meat for consumption, one can only be in awe at their docile approach towards those who have persecuted them so mercilessly. Are they attempting to send us a message?
Grey whales make the longest migration of any mammal known. Similarly to Humpbacks, they feed in the northern cold waters around Bering Strait and Chukchi seas. They migrate south to reproduce in the lagoons of the Pacific Ocean, specifically the west coast of Baja California (Guerrero Negro - Scammon's lagoon, San Ignacio and Magdalena Bay.) The other population goes from the Okhotsk Sea (East coast of Russia) to South Korea. The Atlantic population was unfortunately hunted to extinction some 150 years ago.
This species is the only Cetacean that feeds by straining the sediment from the bottom floor. Their diet consists of up to 95% amphipods (crustaceans that live in tubes in the mud and sand in shallow ocean floors) but can also include worms and mollusks.
They will rub the bottom sideways and strain the water and mud out with their baleens (bristles located in the upper jaw and used as a filter.) Perhaps, that is what our whale was doing on Monday morning. It was in very shallow waters, rubbing the bottom constantly, raising silt everywhere it went.
As with Humpbacks, most of their migration means a serious diet as there is no sufficient amounts of food for them in warm waters. They will mostly consume their own fat and lose tremendous amounts of weight.
Grey whales are easily recognized by their lack of dorsal fin. Instead, they have a low hump with between 6 and 12 knuckles descending in size between the hump and the fluke (proper term for a cetacean's tail.) They are mottled with patches of dark and light grey. Unlike Humpbacks which have barnacles in specific areas, Greys have them in patches all over their body. (A barnacle is a very small crustacean that attaches itself to whales and other objects. Click HERE for detailed info on barnacles.)
As a matter of fact, Grey whales may have 100-200 kg (221-441 lbs) of barnacles attached to their head and body. Females are slightly larger than males. This whale can reach between 39 feet (12.8 m) and 50 feet (15.2 m) and will weight an average of 15 to 34 tons. At birth, they will measure 14 to 16 feet and will weight around ½ ton or a little more. They are believed to live up to 40-50 years.
A beautiful sight is the blow of a Grey whale. It is 10 to 12 feet high, bushy and heart shaped when viewed from the front or back. It doesn't much matter which side I look at it from. To me, a grey whale will always have the shape of a heart. I just love them!
Whilst hunting is now banned a small quota is permitted to indigenous hunters, and an unknown level of illegal hunting still occurs. Shipping and industrial activities in the coastal migratory routes increase the risk of collisions with ships, entanglement in fishing nets and pollution. Furthermore, habitat degradation resulting from drilling and dredging is also a problem. History cannot repeat itself. Let's pay attention to the message.
Since I didn't have my camera with me that day, I want to send a special thank you to Eduardo Lugo for coming over in his boat to photograph this whale and make sure this rare sighting got documented and the data sent to whale research.
"Nature could be such a wonderful teacher if only we saw it for what it really is."
- Monachí
Natural Treasures invites you to witness the beauty and to lend a hand in the conservation of our natural environment.
Griffin Page is a nationally certified whale watching guide as well as a very knowledgeable eco-tour guide. She helps in the research and conservation of Humpback whales and Olive Ridley marine turtles by conducting informative tours here in our Bay. Information on how you can give donations and other necessary materials or reserve a tour is available through her. Join her in this wonderful endeavor!
You can contact her through:
Natural Treasures Vallarta at:
044-322-888-4617 (from Puerto Vallarta)
naturaltreasuresvallarta@yahoo.com
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