Loreto Marine National Reserve & Santa Catalina Island
Our first day of navigation in the Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortez, aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion was spent this morning on the waters of the Loreto National Marine Reserve, south of Carmen Island. This area is regarded as one of the most productive and impressive in the gulf because of the complex sea-bottom topography and the occurrence of seasonal upwelling. As we moved through this magnificent area the sky was completely cloudless and the sun was bright, conditions that are the best for marine mammals watching. It didn’t take long to find several tall blows off in the distance. When our ship got closer we identified the second largest creature of the world, known simply as fin whale. There were five or six individuals scattered around our ship. We spent a time with them, observing their movements and erratic feeding behavior. They were probably foraging for krill, their main food, deep within the water column.
Later we continued our way to Santa Catalina Island, our afternoon destination. Santa Catalina is a truly oceanic island that never had an above surface connection with any other land mass. All terrestrial animals on the island have evolved in complete isolation, so it holds the record of having the highest level of endemism in the gulf in relation to native reptiles. We hiked here and found the elusive and beautiful rattleless rattlesnake, one of the island’s jewels. Black-throated sparrows, verdins, mockingbirds and woodpeckers, among other birds, were found here. On the shoreline, yellow-footed gulls (another gulf endemic) were forming pairs, as their breeding season has started. The silent witnesses for all these activities were the cardon and barrel cacti, which reach gigantic sizes on this island. This was an amazing beginning to our adventure. The Gulf of California holds no end of treasures and surprises.
