SLIDE 1
Baja’s Friendly Whales
Biology and Conservation
Debra Valov
ISSI, August 2015
Introduction
- Natural History
- Conservation Issues
- Ecotourism
Bajas Friendly Whales Biology and Conservation Debra Valov ISSI, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Bajas Friendly Whales Biology and Conservation Debra Valov ISSI, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Bajas Friendly Whales Biology and Conservation Debra Valov ISSI, August 2015 Introduction Natural History Conservation Issues Ecotourism Natural History Mammal in Order Cetacea Eschrichtius robustus Two separate
SLIDE 2
SLIDE 3
Natural History
- Mammal in Order Cetacea
- Eschrichtius robustus
- Two separate populations
- California or Eastern Pacific Gray Whale
SLIDE 4
Barnacles and whale lice
WHALE STATS
45 ft long 30-40 tons
“Knuckles”
Mottled blackish-grey skin
SLIDE 5
Baleen Amphipods (krill)
- 1.3 tons (2600 lbs) per day
- 198 tons (396,000 lbs) in 5 months
WHALE DIET
SLIDE 6
LIFE CYCLE
- Artic to Baja California:
longest migration of a mammal
- Echolocation
SLIDE 7
SUMMER Jun-Sept (Oct)
- feeding
SLIDE 8
FALL & SPRING Oct-Nov & Apr-May
- migration
- 55-60 days
Baja California Peninsula
- No. California Coast
SLIDE 9
WINTER
Laguna San Ignacio Laguna Ojo de Liebre
Dec-Mar
- Mate
- Give birth
- Watch tourists
SLIDE 10
Life in the Baja Lagoons
Breaching Breaching Spyhop Fluking/Diving
SLIDE 11
More than Whales
SLIDE 12
PREDATORS: KILLER WHALES
SLIDE 13
PREDATORS: HUMANS
- 19th Century whaling
- 1947 IWC Moratorium
- Current eastern population: “recovered”??
- Western population “extinct”
SLIDE 14
Conservation Issues
- Whale nurseries declared (Mexico, 1973)
- Biosphere Reserve (1988)
- World Heritage Site (1993)
- 1999 & 2005: salt works proposals
SLIDE 15
Laguna Ojo de Liebre w/ ESSA Salt works
SLIDE 16
Laguna San Ignacio
SLIDE 17
Ecotourism
- Whale watching tours
- Other “eco” activities
- Education programs
SLIDE 18
SLIDE 19
SLIDE 20
SLIDE 21
SLIDE 22
Whale Watching Tours
SLIDE 23
Whale Video
SLIDE 24