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<h2><font size=5 color="#4a4a4a" face=Georgia><span style='font-size:18.0pt'>Beloved
cetaceans: Humpback whales' return to area waters follows long absence I <o:p></o:p></span></font></h2>
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<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>May 11, 2008 12:00 AM<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>For many, the humpback whale is the most
beloved of cetaceans. This is the singing whale of song and legend, the
acrobatic whale, the friendly whale, the character.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>Until fairly recently, however, the
humpback was seldom seen in the Santa Barbara Channel. A look at whaling
records reveals the most likely cause: During the period 1956 through 1965,
841 humpbacks were killed off <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>.
From 1966 through 1969, however, none was killed -- not because the whalers
didn't try, but because they couldn't find any to kill.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>Anita Daugherty, who wrote a book on
marine mammals for the California Department of Fish and Game in 1972,
observed, "The last catches of the endangered blue whale, never large
here, were made in 1965, as were those of the much more abundant humpback."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>This might have been an epitaph for the
humpback in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>.
However, in 1970, legislation was passed protecting eight species of
so-called great whales -- the largest ones -- and by the end of 1971,
whaling had ended in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>
except for some subsistence hunting by American Indian peoples. In 1972,
the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed, giving protection to all
species of marine mammals.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>I clearly remember a pair of humpbacks
that appeared every summer off the west end of <st1:place w:st="on">Santa
Cruz Island</st1:place>. This was in the mid 1960s. Then one summer, they
never showed up again. Since then, humpbacks were reported here and there
off <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>,
but it was not until 1987 that they began appearing in large numbers in the
Santa Barbara Channel. Blue whales followed a couple of years later. By
1992, both species were so prevalent that the whale watch industry could
offer year-round excursions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>The present stock of humpbacks is
estimated at nearly 1,400 animals. Considering that 841 humpbacks from a
population once considered "much more abundant" were killed off <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State> in a 10-year period, it seems clear that
whalers nearly exterminated this species off <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>The present regional stock, one of
several worldwide, ranges from Central America and <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region> in the winter to <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>,
<st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> and <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:State> from spring to fall. The
calving grounds for this stock are most likely in the southern part of the
range. Virtually all of the humpbacks seen here are adults and juveniles --
a few quite young.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>Humpbacks come here to feed, preying on
small schooling fish such as anchovies and sardines, and on krill,
shrimp-like crustaceans about the size of earwigs. They plunge into
concentrated schools of prey, mouths agape, then close their mouths,
forcing the food-laden water through their brush-like baleen plates, a bit
like licking cookie crumbs off a mustache. Humpbacks, in fact, are
mysticetes, literally meaning "mustache whales."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>An interesting phenomenon occurs while
humpbacks are feeding. This is difficult to see unless many whales are
observed or a video is played back in slow motion. When the lower jaw is
extended for a gulp, the water fills the throat, expanding a row of pleats
to allow a greater volume of water to be ingested.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>As this occurs, the lower jaw appears to
widen, much like a catcher's mitt opening up. Some researchers believe that
the lower jaw may hinge at the point of the chin, making a much wider
scoop. Recordings made of feeding humpbacks sometimes catch a loud pop,
which the researchers believe may be the jaw opening up. At any rate, when
the lower jaw is fully open, it certainly doesn't look as though it would
close completely into the upper jaw.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>The much showier and more obvious antics
of humpbacks, including breeching, lobtailing and flipper slaps, make this
species very popular with whale watchers. And for boats with hydrophones,
listening to the underwater vocalizations can be a real treat. Humpbacks
have been in the channel since February, along with gray whales, so now is
a good time to see them.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=1 color="#464646" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:#464646'>Peter Howorth is director of the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Santa Barbara</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Marine</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mammal</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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