I realize I’m weighing in on this story a tad late, since the actual incident happened on July 18, off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. But since this story continues to live on the internet I think it’s still fair game. We’ll never know what the whale was thinking since we still haven’t… [read more]
Archives for July 2010
Sushi lovers beware
Thankfully I never acquired a taste for sushi, it wasn’t common in the Midwest when I was growing up. Because if I actually enjoyed eating it, that would make it much harder to give up now. I’m just trying to be honest that when I say I gave up eating sushi long ago, it really… [read more]
Great whale watching near Santa Barbara!
Wow, whale watching off Santa Barbara’s coast is amazing right now. On Saturday, ACS/LA hosted their Summertime Blues Whale Watch Adventure aboard the Condor Express and we watched whales galore lunge feeding on mass amounts of krill in the Santa Barbara Channel. Every where we looked there was either a humpback whale or a blue… [read more]
Clymene dolphins
Meet the Clymene dolphin or Stenella clymene! This is a pretty cool looking dolphin, featuring many shades of gray from almost white on the bottom to dark gray on top, plus three shades of medium gray in the middle in a complimentary striped pattern. And if you look closely at the dolphin’s beak in the… [read more]
Dolphin watches as oil spill fires burn
This video is a must see for anyone who wants to know what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico. The footage was captured by John L. Wathen of Hurricane Creekkeeper on June 21st, already a month ago. But this is the first video I’ve seen that captures the new reality of whales and… [read more]
Climate change near the equator
Climate change in warmer parts of the globe could also mean a loss of habit. It’s the reverse of losing ice habitat because where is all that excess water going to go? Three words…sea level rise. All that excess water has to go somewhere and it’s quite possible that it could end up flooding crucial… [read more]
Climate change at the poles
Well, I have been seriously neglecting my project to blog through the entire Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, so it’s time to revisit the “C” section, which brings us to climate change. The concept of climate change has become so political that it’s easy to ignore sometimes. But based on all the numbers I’ve seen something… [read more]
Here’s looking at you kid
I have to admit I’m pretty obsessed with California spiny lobsters, they are just so cool! Here’s another great photo of one staring with it’s beady eyes. And don’t be fooled by the yellow coloring with the black spots, those aren’t eyes. The eyes are directly above the yellow areas, the tiny round black marbles… [read more]
The rock wrasse
This fish has it made. The small mouth of the rock wrasse or Halichoeres semicinctus usually prevents it from being caught by fishermen! Yet, rock wrasses are able to munch on a diverse diet of crabs, snails and algae, not too shabby small mouth. This is all based on information conveyed by Dr. Milton Love’s… [read more]
Introducing the pacific sardine
Well, somebody has to be the bait and quite often it’s the Pacific sardine or Sardinops sagax. Sardines average on the smaller side, but can grow up to more than 16 inches. Size is important because it’s an indicator of a sardine’s sexual maturity. Here’s a telling quote from Dr. Milton Love’s book Probably More… [read more]