Despite this being a sad season for the hundreds of starving sea lion pups that have been rescued from Malibu’s beaches over the past few months, other species of marine mammals seem to be thriving.
Record numbers of gray whales have been seen migrating since November; the same family of orcas (killer whales) visited the area for the fourth year in a row; and Island Packer Cruises reports seeing not only great white sharks, but a pod of highly unusual “false killer whales” (a large species of dolphins not usually seen in Southern California) as well as a group of humpback whales that seem to have taken up residence at the Channel Islands.
Alex Brody, fleet manager for Island Packer Cruises, says the immediate area, including the Channel Islands, “has more species of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) than any other place in the world.” Right now, he said, “Gray whale season is winding down, but we saw some humpbacks and blue whales a couple days ago … We’re seeing a lot of phalaropes (type of bird), indicating that the krill is here for attracting the big whales.”
With 25 years of experience at Island Packer, he noted some unusual observations this season.
“The thing that was unusual in the Santa Barbara Channel was that a group of about 12 humpback whales showed up two years ago and never left,” he said. “We saw a humpback calf (baby whale) yesterday, but we’re not sure if it belonged to that group or a passing group.”
What was most exciting to Brody about this season, however, was a sighting of a sizeable pod of false killer whales near Anacapa Island in late February.
“I’d never seen them before in 25 years,” he said.
Brody also noted that this year a great white shark (called “white sharks” by biologists) had four to six “pups” swimming around Ventura Harbor.
Island Packer sights hundreds of common dolphins every day, but Brody says they’re not behaving the way they normally do for this time of year. He said that instead of many pods of dolphins coming together to form “mega-pods,” they’re still just “scattered about.”
Because the company has boats going to the Channel Islands every day from Oxnard and Ventura Harbors, the California Wildlife Center enlists Island Packer’s help to release rehabilitated baby sea lions near the islands.
When asked if he thought the little seals would find food once released, Brody wasn’t so sure.
“The water is a lot warmer than it should be, by five to 10 degrees, so that’s what’s causing their lack of food,” he said.
The annual migration path of gray whales moves directly along the Malibu coast, and it’s not unusual for residents to spot them, usually as they’re spouting. The whales leave their feeding grounds in Alaska and swim to Mexico, a 12,500-mile roundtrip, from November to April.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, director of the “ACS (American Cetacean Society)/L.A. Gray Whale Census & Behavior Project,” has trained on-shore observers on the Palos Verde peninsula to count the whales during migration from December 1 to May 15, as part of a scientific study that’s been ongoing since 1979. The census only counts the whales it can see, which represent a fraction of the total population, estimated at 21,000.
“Every week has been way above normal, sometimes seeing 60 whales a day,” Schulman-Janiger said in a phone interview with The Malibu Times. “It’s much higher than last year.”
She said the migration began early this year with a lot of pregnant females observed, as well as newborn calves with their mothers. The whales are swimming extraordinarily close to the shore, making it possible to count as many as 40 per day, even during bad weather.
The number of southbound whales was 1,898 — the highest in 32 years — and “way above the previous high on record,” Schulman-Janiger said. So far, the number of northbound whales is also poised to break the record, with 1,449 as of last week, compared to 1,062 on the same week of the previous record year.
The study also noted a number of unusual species in the area.
“It’s been one of the most extreme years ever. It’s a 32-year record for seeing Pacific white-sided dolphins,” Schulman-Janiger said. “There have been no Risso’s dolphins sighted, which is unusual; a large number of fin whales [have been sighted], some orcas, several humpbacks that stuck around instead of swimming to Mexico and false killer whales from Mexico.”
For counts and observations that are updated daily, visit the American Cetacean Society website.
