Cruising in the Midriff Islands
Early this morning aboard the expedition vessel Sea Lion, we were treated to a glimpse of the very animal that inspired Herman Melville’s great American novel, a bull sperm whale. We were here with much different intention than Ishmael and Captain Ahab, however. Rather than hunt the great leviathan, we simply wanted to see and come to know just a little about the living whale itself.
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions for our quest as we found ourselves a painted ship upon a painted ocean. The sea all around was mirror smooth, reflecting our sunrise light back into the heavens above. We were in the very heart of the Gulf of California, with the midriff islands to the north, the Baja Peninsula to the west, and the mainland coast of Sonora to the east. In time our sperm whale proved elusive, only whetting our appetite to see more.
Just after breakfast a tall, columnar spout was seen off the bow. A great body appeared below the blow, followed by a second. Fin whales! These are the second largest animal alive on our planet today and these two were next to our ship sub-surface feeding in these nutrient-rich waters. Several close passes yielded a perfect look at the main field diagnostic of this baleen whale; the asymmetrical white coloration of the jaw on the right side and the black coloration of the jaw on the left side. Fin whales are the only whale to have this pattern. Eventually our whales meandered off to continue with their fin whale day.
We had just finished an iguana-filled hike on Isla San Esteban and were gathered on the beach when white water erupted all around the Sea Lion, anchored calmly in the bay. A mad dash to fill the Zodiacs and we were off to investigate just what it was that was making all of this disturbance. We couldn’t believe our luck as the cause of all the commotion turned out to be a very rare animal in these waters, false-killer whales! These blackfish are actually members of the dolphin family, but are often referred to as small whales. We estimated about thirty-five animals ranging in size from a newborn calf of less than three feet to adult bulls pushing twenty feet in length. Feeding was the top priority for this pod as they circled and lunged time and again after unseen prey (unseen to our eyes, anyway). Power-lunging, tail-slapping, and BREACHING were all observed from the group.
Our late afternoon cruise took us close to the island of San Pedro Martir, where small groups of sperm whales were seen all around us, their distinctive forward canted blows erupting from the sea. Cotton ball blows announced the location of dozens of individuals in all directions. We cruised through the afternoon among these leviathans right up until the last rays of the sun dipped below the Baja Peninsula in the west.
Our day ended just as it had began, in the presence of magical whales!
Early this morning aboard the expedition vessel Sea Lion, we were treated to a glimpse of the very animal that inspired Herman Melville’s great American novel, a bull sperm whale. We were here with much different intention than Ishmael and Captain Ahab, however. Rather than hunt the great leviathan, we simply wanted to see and come to know just a little about the living whale itself.
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions for our quest as we found ourselves a painted ship upon a painted ocean. The sea all around was mirror smooth, reflecting our sunrise light back into the heavens above. We were in the very heart of the Gulf of California, with the midriff islands to the north, the Baja Peninsula to the west, and the mainland coast of Sonora to the east. In time our sperm whale proved elusive, only whetting our appetite to see more.
Just after breakfast a tall, columnar spout was seen off the bow. A great body appeared below the blow, followed by a second. Fin whales! These are the second largest animal alive on our planet today and these two were next to our ship sub-surface feeding in these nutrient-rich waters. Several close passes yielded a perfect look at the main field diagnostic of this baleen whale; the asymmetrical white coloration of the jaw on the right side and the black coloration of the jaw on the left side. Fin whales are the only whale to have this pattern. Eventually our whales meandered off to continue with their fin whale day.
We had just finished an iguana-filled hike on Isla San Esteban and were gathered on the beach when white water erupted all around the Sea Lion, anchored calmly in the bay. A mad dash to fill the Zodiacs and we were off to investigate just what it was that was making all of this disturbance. We couldn’t believe our luck as the cause of all the commotion turned out to be a very rare animal in these waters, false-killer whales! These blackfish are actually members of the dolphin family, but are often referred to as small whales. We estimated about thirty-five animals ranging in size from a newborn calf of less than three feet to adult bulls pushing twenty feet in length. Feeding was the top priority for this pod as they circled and lunged time and again after unseen prey (unseen to our eyes, anyway). Power-lunging, tail-slapping, and BREACHING were all observed from the group.
Our late afternoon cruise took us close to the island of San Pedro Martir, where small groups of sperm whales were seen all around us, their distinctive forward canted blows erupting from the sea. Cotton ball blows announced the location of dozens of individuals in all directions. We cruised through the afternoon among these leviathans right up until the last rays of the sun dipped below the Baja Peninsula in the west.
Our day ended just as it had began, in the presence of magical whales!
