[CINC] CX, JANUARY 23

[Kenneth A. Tatro]

Hi Hal,

So, this second group, you say is " ... likely the season's first Mom and calf pair with the tiny, smooth skinned calf looking no more than a few days old."

Were they heading south? This would mean the calf was birthed somewhere up here or north of here in the much colder waters than that of the lagoons of Baja. This, as I understand it, is not good for the calf as it has yet to build the blubber coat needed to deal with the colder waters it will be heading for in the north bound trek.

If they were heading north, this too would a bit odd, as we understand it, they nurse in the lagoons for about six weeks to grow strong and do the fattening they need for the cold waters up north.

We do know that some Grays ARE birthing here and north of here, as noted in the last couple of years, but we feel it is not a good sign for the calves that are birthed in these much colder waters before they have the chance to fatten up.

Your take on what you saw would be interesting for our ongoing observations of what is happening with the Grays, and the issue of the ice melt, and them needing to travel farther for their feeding while up north, and its effect on the gestation period of the pregnant females, thus causing them to birth before they reach the Baja lagoons.

Ken Tatro

On Jan 23, 2013, at 7:53 PM, HAL ALTMAN wrote:

> GROUP 1:  5 GRAY WHALES
> GROUP 2:  2 GRAY WHALES
> 
> Noteworthy:  The 5 Grays stayed clustered in their southbound journey and each of them fluked with every dive.  They were heavily encrusted with both barnacles and whale lice.  The second group were likely the season's first mom and calf pair, with the tiny, smooth-skinned calf looking no more than a few days old.  Both groups barely broke water with their snorkeling technique and stayed topside a scant minute or two.
> 
> Nice to see Rae Emmett and Ginny Fischer again, as well as Capts. Dave and (Double T) Matt.
> 
> ENJOYING LIFE,
> Hal Altman   
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