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Since the beginning of the year, we have been hearing from volunteers stationed along the Pacific coast of the United States who were counting and monitoring our Gray Whales, as they embarked on the northbound leg on their annual migration.
Well, our Gray Whales have now reached their Arctic destination. Hugging the west coast of America, the whales swam from their winter breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico to the summer feeding grounds in the rich waters of the Bering and Chuckchi Sea in the Arctic. They will remain here feeding over the next few months, before returning south in the autumn. It’s an annual round trip of about 12,000km, one of the longest migrations of any mammal.
From observations of the Gray Whales on migration, together with studies in their nursing lagoons and on their feeding grounds, there is increasing evidence that climate change is affecting the migration route, calf production and general health of the whales.
It’s a complex story and there are still unanswered questions, but here in this first of two reports reviewing this year’s migration, Philippa spoke to some of the scientists and volunteers who have been watching our whales on their northbound journey, beginning with Michael Smith, Project Co-ordinator of Gray Whales Count which operates out of Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara Channel, Southern California.
Some whales are migrating in poor body condition, which suggests that they are not finding enough food on their feeding grounds. Is this a symptom of climate change? You can find out more on this story in the second of our two reports in which Philippa begins by speaking to Steven Swartz, a marine biologist with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association or NOAA.
Further Reading:
Next report: Is climate change affecting Gray Whale migration?
Last report: Final Gray Whale Count
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Gray Whale census
Gray Whale Count 2008