It looks like this may be a record year for gray whales and their calves migrating off the coast of Orange and Los Angeles counties with the highest number of sightings in 33 years for northern migration.
Whale watching enterprises in Dana Point have likely upped their use of marketing services to take maximum advantage of the especially active gray whale migration that is occurring this year. It hasn’t just been those on the boats getting a glimpse of mother and baby whales frolicking. From San Clemente beaches to Los Angeles County beaches the public have enjoyed seeing whales playing adjacent to the coastline.
As of April 20, 2016, 2,033 gray whales were counted by volunteers including 102 calves. Last year’s whale migrating season, which runs from December 1 through May 31, had a final calf count of 318 with only 61 of those seen by this time last year. At least 1,000 calves were counted in Baja that still have to make their way north. The whales’ northbound 6,000-mile migration starts at Baja and ends at the Bering Sea where whales feed before heading back south.
The apparent gray whale baby boom is being attributed to reduced spring ice in Bering Sea, which allows the whales more time to feed. Counting gray whale calves is important because it provides information on the health of the species as whole.
