Today's Report Includes:
- The Longest Mammal Migration is Underway! >>
- Whale Watching: News from Observation Posts >>
- Journal Question: What's a Good Nursery?>>
- Tracking the Migration: Using Weekly Data ≥≥
-
Links: This Week's Gray Whale Resources ≥≥
Tourists come to see and touch the whales!
Photo: Keith Jones
 |
As
you sit in your cozy classrooms today, where are the California
gray whales? Are you surprised to learn that many are still plowing
south on their 5,000 to 6,000-mile swim from Alaska to
Mexico? But most gray whales are in the warm Mexican
lagoons right now. Click on the globe to discover
their migration route. For whale watchers along the way, it's the
greatest show on earth! |
|
|
Why do they migrate? How can observers spot them? And just how long are those two-ton babies? Why are they fondly called pickleheads? Read to find out in Gray Whales: The Monumental Migration. |
Babies
in "Nursery" Lagoons
While whale observers along the California coast have spotted a
few whales migrating north, the real action right now is in
the warm lagoons of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. The whales swim all this
way to mate and give
birth — two
important
life cycle events. Most births take place in two lagoons.
(Click on #2 and #3 on the migration
route map for more.)
For centuries
gray whales have migrated to Mexico to give birth to their young.
We know
why people like Mexico in winter, but why do the whales go there? Explore
life in the lagoons to find out.
Welcome to the whales' spring journey north!
Photo:
Keith Jones
A curious mother and baby gray whale approach a tour boat in one of the Mexican lagoons.
Babies
Born at Sea!
Each year, some babies (calves) are born before their mothers
reach the warm, safe lagoons of Mexico. Observers near Los Angeles,
CA, have already counted at least
21 new calves headed south with Mom. This is more cow/calf
pairs than the total cow/calf pairs seen going south in 12 of the last
24 seasons!
How does being born in the open ocean during their mom's southbound migration affect the babies? So far, scientists can only wonder. Two scientists tell you what they think:
Photo:
Mike Hawe
Baby rests on Mom's back.
- What do you think makes the lagoons of Baja Mexico such good gray whale baby nurseries? Name at least two conditions, and tell why each is important.
Write your ideas in your Gray Whale Journal. >>
Where are those gray whale adults and babies (calves) this week — and which direction(s) are they going? With each Journey North report, you can view current migration data showing the gray whale counts from two California counting stations. This is called a point count. Our handout (see right) offers questions about the data.
You can also graph gray whale data through the whole season using blank student data sheets and graphs in this lesson:
- Lesson: Tracking Gray Whale Migration from California Observation Posts >>
The Next Gray Whale Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 20, 2008.
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