2013 06-21 SB Channel
When humpback whales are very close, almost anyone can smell them. But it takes a seasoned veteran captain like Captain Dave to sniff-out cetaceans when they are 8 or 10 miles “out there.” After an initial contact with a humpback whale just outside Santa Barbara Harbor, Dave pushed offshore keeping the moderate chop on our bow quarter for a smoother ride. It was not too long until Dave’s keen eyes (and nose) located one of the most massive oceanic hot spots I’ve seen in years. No kidding. This huge patch of activity stretched across at least 5 football fields and was about one football field wide. Here we found an inestimable number of actively feeding common dolphins and their aerial companions such as sooty sheareaters, western gulls, Heermann’s gulls, brown pelicans and…..another five humpback whales. I cannot imagine the size of the anchovy school that must have lied just beneath the surface of this massive feeding frenzy. There was also a minke whale spotted just before we got into the zone of life. California sea lions were everywhere, joining in the food fest. Most curiously, about a dozen “Lags,” or Pacific white-sided dolphins, nicknamed after their scientific genus Lagenorhynchus, came alongside and rode our bow wake into the fray.
This was not one of those momentary spots that come together fast, then dissipate equally fast. We were on station about two hours. This is one reason why the Condor Express is one of the best whale watching platforms in southern California and L.A.
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An open ocean geyser. Scientists are generally baffled by these rare phenomena, and are collecting data to help explain them. One current theory is that they are the result of "high nozzle" methane gas seeps on the sea floor that get intensified by channels in the rock layers below the ocean. Another popular theory involves super heated seawater that is ejected from hydrothermal vents along crustal plate margins. (Just kidding....it's a spout from a sub-surface humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) ride a wave and exhale at the same time.
A Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) is seen leaping.
A close look at the curved dorsal fin and blunt snout of a Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens).
A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) sends up some smoke.
The massive body of an adult humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is seen busting through the swells.
A very close look at the natural stumpy dorsal fin and hump on the back of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is seen fluking-up.
California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).
California sea lions (Zalophus californianus).
A California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) comes up along side a huge humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), one with a number 6789 branded in its hide by researchers in Astoria,Oregon. Here is an excerpt from the Oregon State website about branding. "...have been trapping and branding California sea lions in Astoria since 1997 as part of long-term study to monitor the movement, feeding habits and migration patterns of the animal in the Columbia River and along the Pacific Coast. By re-sighting individual animals throughout their lives, we can learn about age-specific survival, habitat use, age at sexual maturity, reproductive rates and longevity. All of this information is crucial to understanding sea lion life history in order to insure the overall health and well-being of the population...Branding is the only permanent way to mark a California sea lion. Wildlife managers have been hot branding seals and sea lions for over 50 years. The process is not inhumane. All of our capture and marking procedures have been reviewed and approved by our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, which includes experience veterinarians, species experts, and unaffiliated members of the general public, as dictated by the federal Animals Welfare Act...The hot brand is applied for 2-3 seconds to burn the hair and the very top layer of skin so the hair can’t grow back. While the process and the brand itself may look painful and raw to us, the skin of a California sea lion is very different that than of a human. It’s thicker and tougher, and has few nerve endings. Since 1997 we have branded nearly 1,400 California sea lions in Astoria. In that time, we have never had an animal die due to branding. In fact, most sea lions react very little to the branding event."
