GREY WHALES, from page 3 Landmarks guide the whale’s route
By KRISTIN MAYER Special to the Daily Press
SM BEACH When Caroline Gerstley and her Sierra Club friends were strolling along the beach just south of the Santa Monica Pier ear-lier this week, they spotted a whale pop out of the water and break an otherwise smooth horizon.
The Pacific gray whale surfaced several times, to the amazement — and concern — of the beach-goers.
Gerstley instinctively thought the whale was in distress, as she had never seen a whale swimming by itself so close to that area of the coastline. The friends approached lifeguards out of concern for the mammal,but were soon reassured that the sighting, though rare, was no cause for stress.
Gerstley’s reaction is a common misperception of the mammals,which average 40 feet in length and weigh about 40 tons, said John Nietl, a whale observer for the past decade at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes.
“People tend to look out in the ocean and see water, so when they see something they aren’t used to seeing all sorts of assumptions come to mind,” Nietl said.
Contrary to popular perception, gray whales swim in solitude and navigate coves along the shore, rarely gathering in pods like killer whales.
“We’ll get a barrage of calls when they get really close to shores like that,”said Capt. Terry Harvey of the Los Angeles County lifeguards.
Whales in distress have no reason to head for the shore, so those spotted near the coast-line are most likely healthy, according to Nietl. Whales that end up beached are pushed in with the tide and are physically beyond rescue.
“If it’s not beached, it’s fine,” Nietl said. Whales, like the one Gerstley spotted on Tuesday, typically pass by Southern California when they migrate from frigid Alaska to the warm and sheltered waters of Baja California, where they mate and birth their young, Nietl said. The 14,000-mile round trip lasts from December to May.
“We see them going into coves and exploring on their way down,” he said.
Certain underwater landmarks, such as Point Vicente and the oil platforms at Huntington Beach, are believed to guide whales as they plan their routes, Nietl said.
Gray whale sightings are a rarity in the Santa Monica Bay because it is outside the whales’ normal migration route, Harvey said.
Whales typically swim in deeper waters on the far side of the Channel Islands, but come into shallower waters of 100 feet or less to feed on shrimp-like creatures close to shore.
“As something appeals to them, they might grab a quick snack,” Nietl said.
Whales tend to scrape along the ocean floor when they feed, but it is unclear whether they scrape off the barnacles on purpose or just happen to as they scavenge for food.
Mothers and calves sometimes seek out the protection of the nooks and crannies along the shore, Nietl said.
Harvey, who has spotted many whales with unsuspecting beach-goers during his 24 years lifeguarding up and down the Southern California coast, calls himself fortunate.
“We’ll get a mom and a calf come in and scratch their backs for half an hour,” Harvey said “It’s a very rare sight to see.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 13, 2007. Read the original PDF.