Gray Whale Hanky-Panky

Greetings All,

A very long 8-hour drive brought us to the town of San Ignacio where we spent the night of Jan. 31. The following morning we drove about 48 km due west on a paved road before arriving at San Ignacio Lagoon.  The pavement ended and we proceeded another 20 km on a rutted dirt road to Campo Cortez, home for the next 4 nights.



Campo Cortez

We checked into our cozy cabin before heading out on our first whale watching excursion in the afternoon.  There were more whales here than in Magdalena.  The last count on Jan. 27 was up to 233 whales.  We could see their blows all around us but none were interested in approaching our boat. Suddenly our guide, Noly, spots several whales cavorting about.  There was a lot of fluke waving, splashing and rolling going on.

Cavorting Gray Whales

We guessed that they were in the process of mating or at least foreplay.  We had no doubts when a "double Pink Floyd" appeared on the surface of the water!

"Double Pink Floyd" 

Obviously, a Pink Floyd is a slang term for a Gray Whale's penis (we had a six-year old on board). I'm sure many of you are wondering "how long is a gray whale's penis?"  The answer is 1-1.7 m or 3-5.5 feet long!  We didn't see the actual mating as it is presumed to occur belly to belly under the water.  In fact few have ever witnessed it and even fewer have filmed it.  We watched for about an hour before a final Pink  Floyd waved a goodbye!

"Pink Floyd"

Over the course of 7 more whale watching excursions we learned a lot more about Gray Whales. Originally there were three distinct populations.  The North Atlantic population has gone extinct. The Western North Pacific population is critically endangered with as few as 130 individuals remaining. The Eastern North Pacific population which we were observing,  has recovered from a very low level of around 160 to over 20,000 today and was removed from the U.S. endangered Species List in 1994 - a big conservation success story!  Gray Whales differ from other whales in that they do not have a dorsal fin.  Instead they have 6-12 bumps called knuckles that extend down the midline of the tail stock almost to the flukes.

Gray Whale 'Knuckles"

Gray Whales are born a uniform gunmetal gray and become a mottled gray and white color as they age.   Many of the whales had pink or orange blotches nestled in between larger barnacles on their heads and upper torso.  These patches are cyamids, commonly referred to as "whale lice" and feed on the tattered skin damaged by the attachment of barnacles. 

Barnacles and "Whale Lice" on a Gray Whale

Unlike Magdalena Bay, there were many female whales with calves!  Just months old, the calves kept close to mom often swimming onto her back to rest.

Gray Whale Calf and Mother



At this stage the calves resemble pickles with their wrinkled and dimpled heads.  Each dimple contains a single bristle or vibrssae which have a sensory function and may assist the calf with nursing.



Gray Whale Calf



 At two months of age a calf is just a fraction its mothers weight, weighing around 2200 kg compared to mom's 17,300 kg mass!  The calves grow fast, gaining 60-70 lbs. per day on their mothers fat-rich (53%) milk.  At this age the mothers are still very protective of their calves and would not let them approach our boat.  One little fellow thought he was old enough for human contact and headed straight for me.   I was able to touch him on his cute wrinkly nose!

Touching a Gray Whale Calf! (Photo Courtesy of Jim Dorsey)

In San Ignacio we were able to view whale behavior that we did not see in Magdalena Bay.  In addition to the mating already described, the whales in San Ignacio tend to spyhop more. Spyhopping is when a whale raises his head out of the water to get a look at his surroundings or to orient itself.

Gray Whale Spyhopping

When more than one whale spyhopped at the same time they looked like synchronized swimmers performing for our enjoyment.  We were also able to observe another behavior in Magdalena and San Ignacio called breaching.  Here a whale propels herself out of the water and crashes back to the surface with a big splash.  Most of the breaches were in the distance but if you see the first one, a whale is likely to breach up to 4 times more.  Marc was able to capture a breach by focusing on the spot and waiting for the next breach to happen.

Gray Whale Breaching

It's not known why a whale breaches.  Some think it is to get rid of barnacles but they are firmly attached and breaching does not remove them.  Maybe they are simply jubilant after completing the long migration south.  To reach the wintering lagoons they have to swim non-stop.  In order to do this the Gray Whales have developed uni-hemisphere slow wave sleep during which half the brain sleeps while the other half stays alert.  During migration and in the wintering lagoons, the whales don't do much foraging.  They save this for the return to the Bering and Chukchi Seas during the summer months.  Gray Whales are bottom feeders, diving to 70 meters to suck food into their mouths.  They stay submerged for up to 20-30 minutes before surfacing to exhale air through their two blow holes.

Two Blowholes of a Gray Whale calf

As the season progresses, the whales become more friendly, frequently approaching boats to be petted and rubbed.  Often they will stay with a boat for over an hour.  Unfortunately, it was time for us to leave the lagoon but we will return to visit the Gray Whales again.  I can't think of any other animal that approaches humans for contact without food involved, can you?

We extended our stay in San Ignacio to visit one of the caves with rock art.  To get to the trailhead we had to drive about 40 km on a rutted, rocky dirt road.  The desert scenery along the way was stunning.  The recent rains had "greened-up" the desert and it looked like a cactus garden on steroids. The most abundant species is the Mexican Giant Cactus, the worlds tallest cactus.  It can grow up to 70 feet in height and live as long as 300 years!  Many first time visitors to Baja mistake this giant cactus for the similar saguaro cactus.

Mexican Giant Cactus

We met our guide at the trailhead and hiked for about 2 miles to El Palmerito.  The cave is actually a rock overhang with paintings on its walls and ceiling  4000 years old!  There were human and animal (deer, puma and a turtle) figures.  Some of the male figures appeared to be wearing a horn-shaped hat or is it their hair?

Rock Rock in El Palmerito

Rock Art in El Palmerito

Spanish missionaries knew about the caves back in the 1700's but they only became known to the outside world in 1962 so not much is known about them.  Two weeks isn't nearly enough time to explore Baja California Sur.  There is so much to see and do here, unparalleled Gray Whale watching, swimming with whale sharks and sea lions, kayaking through mangroves, birding, hiking through spectacular desert scenery to caves with ancient rock art and the list goes on.  Now that we've discovered this hidden gem, we will be back!

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

      Mexico Mammal List

No.	Species	Scientific Name	Notes
1	Gray Whale	Eschrichtius robustus	Magdalena, San Ignacio
2	Common Bottlenose Dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	Magdalena, Espirtu Santo
3	California Sea Lion	Zalophus californianus	Magdalena Bay, Espirtu Santo
4	Humpback Whale	Megaptera novaeangliae	Espirtu Santo
5	Coyote	Canis latrans	Baja California
6	Mule Deer	Odocoileus hemionus	Baja California
7	Rock Squirrel	Otospermophilus variegatus	Valle de Bravo

Close Encounters of the Gray Whale Kind

Greetings All,

We flew from Mexico City to La Paz, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur on Jan. 24.  Here is a map of Baja California Sur, a narrow peninsula that extends along the west coast of Mexico.

Map of Baja California Sur (areas visited are circled)

 

Every winter hundreds of Gray Whales migrate from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas to the calm, warm waters of Baja.  Here they mate or give birth to their calves in 3 major bays or lagoons: Magdalena, San Ignacio and Guerrero Negro.  This migration covers 6000 to 8000 miles one way!   Here is a map showing the whales' migration route.

Eastern Pacific Gray Whale Migration Route

 

We joined our 3rd tour group in La Paz and the following morning drove 4 hours north to the tiny hamlet of San Carlos where we boarded a boat for the 1-hour cruise to our camp on Magdalena Island, home for the next 4 nights.

Camp on Magdalena Island

 

The weather was colder and wetter than expected but it didn't stop us from going on our first whale watching excursion that afternoon.  Being the southernmost bay, the whales arrive in Magdalena last. We were early in the season and the whales were just beginning to arrive.  We weren't disappointed. Our first encounter with one of these magnificent creatures was a thrill.  Seeing a whale from a small boat on their level is quite different than seeing one from a distance in a large cruise ship.

Close Encounter (photo courtesy of Jessica Pociask, WANT Expeditions)

 

Over the course of the next four days we made 8 whale watching excursions lasting around 3 hours each.  We observed only adults and mainly females being pursued by 2-4 males.

Courting Gray Whales

 

Some believe that males actually help one another during the mating process by holding up the female while a second male gets the honors.  That's why you always see more than one male at each mating event.  Others believe that this is a myth and the multiple males are competing to mate.  On some days the whales were friendly, actually approaching our boat and swimming around and even under it.

A "Friendly" Gray Whale Approaches

 

On seemingly alternate days the whales couldn't be bothered with us.  If we approached too closely, they would dive with a powerful flick of their tails.
 

Gray Whale Fluke 

They would leave behind a large oval oil slick called a footprint.

Gray Whale "Footprint"

It was best not to pursue them during these days and we went off to view the nearby California Sea Lion colony instead.

California Sea Lions

 

On our 6th excursion we encountered a very friendly female who approached our boat very closely.  I leaned over the side, about ready to fall overboard to touch her as she glided under the boat!

Come Closer, Come Closer!

 

It wasn't so much how she felt to my touch but the emotion I felt.  Gray Whales have been hunted to the brink of extinction and to this day are still hunted in the northern extreme of their range.  Yet here was this beautiful female so trusting of humans that she actually approached our boat and allowed me and a few others on board to touch her!  Our trip leader Jessica got a video of this magical encounter.

Peggy touching a whale

 

The whales tend to congregate at the mouth (La Boca) of the bay about 10 miles from our camp.  On the way we'd pass the remnants of an old cannery, now a fishing village.  The Brown Pelicans use what's left of the old pier pilings as perching posts.  They look especially beautiful this time of year dressed in their finest breeding plumage.

Brown Pelican In Breeding Plumage

 

 

From camp we were treated to glorious sunsets and sunrises.

Sunrise over Magdalena Bay

 

All too soon our time with the Gray Whales of Magdalena came to an end.  We'd take with us memories of our close encounters with these amazing animals and wish them well on the long migration back north!

We returned to La Paz to spend a day with the Whale Sharks and California Sea Lions.  A resident population of juvenile Whale Sharks hang out in the bay and people go out to swim with them.  I wasn't completely sold on the idea but was willing to give it a try.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.  It clouded over and started to rain, making it impossible to spot the Whale Sharks.  Instead we decided to head to Espirtu Santo Island to swim with the California Sea Lions.  A colony of about 200 animals hang out here and are used to tourists coming to swim with them.  As we approached we could see many adults and pups clamboring about on the rocks.

California Sea Lion Colony at Espirtu Santo

 

It was still rainy and quite cold but some in our group braved the elements and went into the water with them.  We passed as I wasn't feeling well but the others had a most memorable experience with the playful pups.  On the way back it continued to rain and we were all soaked and very cold.  We sat in the bottom of the boat with a tarp over us to keep out the worst of the wind and rain.  This is the desert, it's not supposed to rain in the desert!

Packed Under the Tarp!

 

As we were nearing the marina a friendly pod of Bottlenose Dolphins swam behind our boat in the wake.  It's not clear why they choose to do this but it sure looked like they were having fun.  Marc took a video of the action.

Dolphins in our boat wake 

 

That night we had a very interesting dinner at Restaurant Zarape owned by a local woman, Lorena Hinojosa, who collects Mexican art.  She had on display pottery from all over Mexico and in the banquet room she had reproduction paintings by the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo.  Frida, an art student of Rivera's and 21 years younger,  married him in 1929.  They had a tumultuous marriage, divorcing then remarrying.  Most of Frida's paintings were self portraits depicting the pain she constantly suffered as a result of a serious bus accident in 1925.  In this self portrait, originally painted in 1941, Frida is shown with her parrots.

Frida and her Parrots

The following morning we said goodbye to our group and headed to the airport to pick up a rental car for the drive north to San Ignacio.  We couldn't decide which bay to visit, Magdalena or San Ignacio, so decided to visit both.  We hope our whale encounters in San Ignacio are as intimate as they were in Magdelena!

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc 

Conduit to the New World

Greetings All,
We were treated to smooth seas on our way back south along the Chukotka Coast.  We made a landing on Kolyuchin Island now part of Beringia National Park formed by the Russian Government last year.  The island is a treasure trove of wildlife.  On the northern tip are cliffs teeming with bird life.  We climbed to the top of the island, crossed over to the cliffs and finally got great views of Horned Puffins.  They look like tiny clowns with their bulbous beaks, outlandish eyebrows and big red feet.

Horned Puffin

The Murres or Guillimots as they are also called lined up along narrow cliffs in their smart tuxedos.  Here they are the "Penguins of the Arctic".

Murres or Guillemots

A closer look revealed that there are two species.  Brunnich's Guillemot (Thick-billed Murre) with a white stipe on the bill and the white on their breast culminating in a "V" under their chins.  Common Murres of Guillemots lack the white stripe on the bill and the white on their breasts does not end in a pronounced "V".

Common and Thick-billed Murres

There was also a second species of Puffin here.  Tufted Puffins have creamy tassels on the side of their heads and lack the white breast of the Horned Puffins.

Tufted & horned Puffins

Black-legged Kittiwakes were still rearing chicks on the narrow, over-crowded cliffs.

Black-legged Kittiwakes

Evening was approaching and we boarded the Zodiacs to travel to the southern end of the Island to see a large Walrus haulout.  The Zodiac was bobbing, the light was low and the Walrus were about 100 yards away but Marc managed to get some good photos.

Walrus Haulout

There were about 800-1000 Pacific Walrus resting on the rocky beach.  It was not the largest haulout by any means, 60,000 animals once hauled out on Cape Blossom on Wrangel Island, but still very impressive.  It was getting dark and we headed back to the ship.

The next day we arrived at the Chukchi village of Uelen, the sun was shining, the seas were calm and the Gray Whales were spouting all around us.

Gray Whale

They would come to the surface exhaling a puff of water vapor about six times before diving with a flick of their massive tails to feed.

Gray Whale Fluke

Unlike similar sized whales, Gray Whales don't have a dorsal fin.  In the summer they come to the rich Arctic waters to feed before returning to Baja, Mexico in the winter to give births to their calves.

When we arrived on the beach in Uelen, the village hunters had just killed a Gray Whale and were in the process of dragging it ashore to process it.

Gray Whale Hunt

It was sad to see after watching many live whales feeding happily in the harbor.  The International Whaling Commission has granted the following catch limit for aboriginal subsistence whaling: Eastern North Pacific gray whales (taken by native people of Chukotka and Washington State) - A total catch of 620 whales is allowed for the years 2008 - 2012 with a maximum of 140 in any one year.  People here have been hunting whales for millennia and today the tradition lives on. (Note: no mention of quotas after 2012 was found on the IWC website)

We visited the school which at this time of year is not in session.  We did visit a classroom where the Chukchi language is taught from grades 2-9.  The language is dying out and there are efforts underway to revive it.  Before the Russians arrived in Chukotka, the Chukchi language was only spoken.  Now it has been written with the Russian alphabet plus two new letters.  I asked the Chukchi teacher in attendance if she could speak her native tongue for us so we could hear how it sounds. Here is a short video clip of the Chukchi language so you can hear for yourselves.

Chukchi Language Demonstration

Next stop was the museum.  On the way we passed the local "delivery tank" that had just brought up a supply of apples and oranges from the south.

Delivery Tank

A few baidaras minus the walrus skin were stored on top of shipping containers, not Bowhead jawbones like the old days.

Stored Baidara frames

The people of Uelen are famous for carving walrus ivory.  Intricate figures are carved from the tusks of walrus using special tools although today dentist drills are more commonly used.

Walrus Tusk Carvings

Stories are carved into whole tusks then colored with special pencils.  There were a few trinkets for sale but we all refrained.  Even though there is no ban on walrus ivory like there is for elephant ivory, there is a Marine Mammal Protection Act which prohibits the import of walrus ivory into the US.

We gathered at the Community Center to watch a native dance performance.  The young girls were dressed in their kamleikas or traditional cotton dress in preparation for the dance.

Chukchi Girls

The weather was so nice their performance was moved to the beach where the Bering Sea provided a beautiful backdrop.  Five men, 3 of which beat seal skin drums, and 11 women and girls danced and sang for us.  Many dances were performed including the "welcome dance", the "walrus dance" and the comical "squirrel dance".  Here is a short clip so you can enjoy the performance as well.

Chukchi Dance

Watching the performance I couldn't help thinking "this is where it all began".  People from present-day Chukotka made their way to North America to begin life on a new continent. It was widely held that humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge after the last glacial period approximately 13,000 years ago the so-called Clovis Theory.  New evidence suggests that they sailed their boats south along the coast crossing the present day Gulf of Alaska to the shore of what is now Washington State before the last ice age ended around 14,000 years ago!  Whatever theory you believe Chukotka has served as a conduit for humans, animals and plants to enter the New World!

We'd like to thank the staff and crew of Heritage Expeditions for an extraordinary expedition.  This voyage opened a whole new world for me, the amazing Arctic.  Global warming is causing profound changes to this fragile environment.  As the ice melts ships can venture further and further north.  It's great for us but it also opens the area to oil and gas exploration.  The animals and plants will learn to adapt to the changing climate or move into new areas but humans ultimately hold their fate.  I hope that we will choose to preserve rather than exploit the cultural, anthropological and natural history of this wondrous place, the high Arctic!

We hope all is well back home,
Peggy and Marc

The Wonders of Wrangel Island

Greetings All,

We're still in the Siberian Arctic exploring remote Wrangel Island.  On the morning of August 15 we set off to explore the area around Komsomol on the west side of the Island.  There is an abandoned Arctic Fox trapper's hut here complete with a baidara with the walrus skin now eaten away.  Leg hold traps hang from the front of the cabin and the doors and windows are studded with nails to ward off Polar Bears.

Arctic Fox Trapper's Hut

We took a short walk along the beach where a Gray Whale was feeding just off shore.

Gray Whale

A raft of Long-tailed Ducks bobbed along on the surf.

Long-tailed Ducks

Daisies carpeted the shore of a tiny lake.  Plants here grow low to the ground to avoid the brutal Arctic winds.

Daisies

Tiny flocks of Dunlins were feeding with their long beaks in the shallows around the lake.  

Dunlin

Tracks of a Polar Bear mother and her cubs were clearly embedded in the mud along the lake shore. You could even see the imprint of fur surrounding her footprint. 

Polar Bear Tracks

She was still there with two cubs resting on the far shore of the lake until our intrusion caused her to get up to investigate.

Polar Bear Sow with Cubs

She settled down shortly after once she saw we were no threat.  In the afternoon we landed at the Sovietskaya River and took a long walk.  We started along the riverbed where Pomarine Skuas were pretending to be injured in order to lure us away from their nest.

Pomarine Skuas

 

We climbed to the top of a ridge where an expansive view enfolded before us.  A Polar Bear sow with two clubs were on the valley floor below.  Even though we were far away, we disturbed her and she ran off with her two cubs in tow.

Polar Bear Sow with Cubs

Even though Polar Bears are fearsome predators, they are very cautious.  They tend to flee rather than confront potential danger.  We spotted another 7 bears dotted around the ridges in the distance.  The day was not over yet.  After dinner we did a zodiac cruise along the bird cliffs at Pitchiy Bazaar.  Thousands of Common Guillemots, Brunnich's Guillemots,  Horned Puffins, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots and Kittiwakes were nesting on the rocky cliffs.  Thousands more flew overhead creating a deafening raucous.

Bird Cliffs at Pitchiy Bazaar

From above an Arctic Fox was attempting to raid the colony for chicks or eggs.

Arctic Fox

It was nearing 9:30 and the sun was setting, it was time to return to the ship.

Sunset at Pitchiy Bazaar

The next morning we continued our exploration of Wrangel Island.  We headed toward our landing site at Drum Head (also known as Dream Head) but were distracted by two Polar Bears on the beach.  We drew closer and closer but not so close that we would interrupt their friendly sparring. 

Sparring Polar Bears 

As we neared our landing site a lone Reindeer stag stood on the tundra.  Velvet hung in tatters from his massive antlers.  

Reindeer

Reindeer are now scarce on Wrangel.  They were introduced to the island in 1938 and the herd had grown to a whopping 8000 individuals!  In the winter of 2005-6 disaster struck when a staggering 6000 reindeer died!  A freeze/thaw/freeze cycle left the grass frozen in big chunks of ice.  After eating this grass the reindeer died.  Nikita explained to me later that the consumed ice froze and killed the bacteria that the reindeer needed to digest the grass.  Eventually the reindeer died with full tummies of grass.  Today only 400 reindeer remain on the island!  We crept ashore cautiously taking great care not to disturb the reindeer.  Suddenly, Nikita spotted a Polar Bear heading down the beach in our direction!  The reindeer was quickly forgotten and Nikita told us to sit down and remain quiet.  It seemed crazy to sit down and wait while a full grown polar bear approached but that is exactly what we did.  I figured out of 50 people that there was at least 1 person I could outrun.

Waiting for a Polar Bear!

I couldn't see the beach as we were sitting below a gravel bank but some of our group higher up were getting excited.  I partially stood and could see the Polar Bear cautiously approaching not more than 150 feet away!

A Polar Bear Approaches!

 

She finally figured out what we were, turned and ran a short distance down the beach.  She settled and sauntered off at a leisurely pace.

A Polar Bear Retreats Down the Beach

 

I can't imagine what more wonders were in store for us but I was eager to find out.  We had just learned that there were 2 last-minute cancellations on the next 2-day overland tour and the spots were ours!  We would get to see the interior and spend 2 nights on Wrangel after all!

We hope all is well back home,

Peggy and Marc