Massive Blue Whale Salutes Dana Point

Blue whales are not only magnificent creatures, but according to National Geographic, they are the largest animals ever to have lived on Earth. Those lucky enough today to have been watching from the coast or cruising in a boat sailing through the waters off Dana Point received a rare treat indeed. A majestic Blue Whale happened by, its bushy stream of misty air breaking the ocean’s surface. As you can hear in the video, the excited group waited in rapt anticipation of the ultimate whale watching experience. The whale did not disappoint. The magnificent creature arched its back, moving the central part of its body out of the water in crescent like fashion. Then head first, it took a deep dive, showing off the underside of its tale, or flukes, in picture postcard fashion.

Unlike fish, whale tales are vertical and contain no bones. The two lobes, called flukes, made of dense, fibrous connective tissue and surrounded by a network of arteries and veins, are separated by a deep notch. Long muscles located above and below the whale’s backbone move the flukes up and down.

Some fun facts about blue whales:*

• A blue whale’s tail is the width of the spread of a soccer net, about 25 feet.
• The blowhole on top of its head is large enough for a baby to crawl through.
• They have a giant mouth stretching all the way down to their navels.
• They eat krill, one of the smallest animals in the world.
• Mother whales have only one baby at a time, generally every 2 or 3 years.
• When born, a baby blue weighs about 4 tons, and is very hungry.
• A baby whale drinks about 50-100 gallons of mile every day.
• Babies grow about 8 pounds an hours, or 200 pounds a day.
• It is unknown how long blue whales live, but it is believed they live to be 100.
• Fast swimmers, until the steam engine, explosive harpoons and air compressors were invented, they could out run whalers.
• The blue whale is most closely related to a hippo.

Earth Day is coming up Monday, April 22nd. It is important to reflect on our responsibility to all creatures, great and small. Like all mammals, whales store pollution in their tissues, which can be passed on to their offspring during gestation and breast feeding. Changes to the oceans affect their food supply. Boat propellers can maim or even kill whales. A skeleton of a baby whale in Dana Point’s Ocean Institute is missing its tail. Whales communicate with one another through song and therefore extremely sensitive to noise pollution.

Enjoy Earth Day at the Headlands, Saturday from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm at the Nature Interpretive Center right off the coast. If you’re lucky, you will see a whale!

*https://bit.ly/2UmIeY1