• Home
  • About
  • Marine mammals
    • Dolphins
    • Porpoises
    • Seals, sea lions
    • Whales
  • Phenomena
    • Climate change
    • Invasive species
    • Pollution
    • Oceanography
  • Inspiration
    • Animal encounters
    • Earth musings
    • Easy Reader columns
    • Ocean heroes
    • Photography
    • Writing & Poetry
  • Happenings
    • Consumer Alerts
    • Ocean events
  • Resources
  • Contact

Ocean Wild Things

What Humpback Whales Can Teach Us About Compassion

June 18, 2018 by Emily Folk Leave a Comment

Research and observations have discovered that animals might have compassion. Our world is a complicated and strange place. When we humans think we’ve learned all we can about the planet, something new and amazing emerges to challenge our thinking and give us deeper insight into this place we call home. Understanding nature helps us understand… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: baleen, breaching, compassion, humpback whale, intelligence, science, whale, whales, wildlife

Hawaii humpback heaven

February 25, 2014 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

I was in Hawaii humpback heaven and it was amazing! One of the best places to access humpback whale heaven is off the island of Maui from the city of Lahaina. This is where you can find tons of whale watching boats to take you out to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: baleen, breach, endangered, Hawaii, humpback whale, Lahaina, Maui, nature photography, whale watching, wildlife photography

Gray whale inspiration for New Year’s resolutions

January 18, 2014 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

Gray whales migrate past Southern California every year and of course 2014 is no exception. In fact, gray whale sightings recorded by the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project during December were the highest in 30 years! On January 14th they spotted 37 gray whales in one day. If one of your New Year’s… [read more]

Filed Under: Earth musings, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, gray whale, migration, whale, whale watching

Blue whale watching part 2

August 31, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

On Saturday, August 24th, I had the chance to go whale watching a second time on Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach and had another great trip. The boat left at 9am and headed out into a foggy soup. Once we got out of the harbor we couldn’t see anything for a hundred yards, no… [read more]

Filed Under: Turtles, Whales Tagged With: baleen, barnacle, blue whale, cetacean, endangered, green sea turtle, whale, wildlife photography

Delta the blue whale on the move

July 24, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

On July 22. 2013, Delta was spotted off Los Angeles County’s coast by whale watchers traversing the great blue sea with Harbor Breeze Cruises based in Long Beach. Who is Delta you ask? Well, Delta happens to be a blue whale with a very distinct tail. As you can see in the photo, both ends… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: baleen, blue whale, cetacean, flukes, whale, whale watching, wildlife photography

Whale watching on the sand

January 27, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

I had a great time whale watching this weekend! Okay, so maybe it wasn’t whale watching exactly…I had the chance to see a life-size Pacific gray whale made out of sand at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s Whale Fiesta. And this sand sculpture was very accurate. As you can see in the photo this gray whale had… [read more]

Filed Under: Earth musings, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, gray whale, whale, whale watching

Remember the blue whale

May 29, 2012 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

On May 18th, Endangered Species Day, I had every intention of writing a post about the blue whale, but there is only so much time in the day and that opportunity came and went. (By the way, for those of you who don’t know, the third Friday in May is Endangered Species Day, so get… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: baleen, blue whale, cetacean, endangered, whale, whale watching, whaling

Great photo of a fin whale’s asymmetrical jaw coloring

May 8, 2012 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

This is an aerial shot of a fin whale, the second largest baleen whale and the fastest. It’s a great photo because it shows the asymmetrical coloring of the fin whale’s lower jaw. Take a close look on the left (your left, the whale’s right) and you can see the white coloring all along the… [read more]

Filed Under: Photography, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, fin whale, nature photography, whale, whale watching, wildlife photography

Join me for some blue whale watching and rhyming!

September 15, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

The blues are here don’t you know, just get on out there, it’s time to go! See the largest animal to ever live on earth, witness it’s massive hulking, bulking girth. Who knew they would ever visit Santa Monica Bay, I wish there was always enough krill around for them to stay. So rare and… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: baleen, blue whale, krill, whale, whale watching

Whale watching photos taken near Santa Barbara part 2

September 3, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

Part two (don’t worry there will only be three parts) of amazing whale sighting on the ACS Whale Watching trip features the humpback whales that gave us quite a show. This trip was the first time I’ve seen synchronized swimming or fluking. Four humpback whales swam very closely together, they took time hanging at the… [read more]

Filed Under: Photography, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, fluke, humpback whale, killer whale, whale, whale watching

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Join the Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe Via Email

Latest Tweets

  • RT @CabrilloAqua: Join us this Saturday for our monthly Walk Cabrillo! During the coastal park walk you'll visit the native garden, salt ma… 02:04:45 PM March 07, 2023 from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @wantokmoana: Halo oloketa! Introducing Sabrina Pania MSc students and an ACAIR scholarship recipient. Sabi is studying the Nutritional… 03:58:25 PM June 14, 2022 from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @TXSeaGrant: Approximately 45 Kemp's ridley turtles were discovered hatching on Magnolia Beach. "This has never happened in modern times… 03:57:48 PM June 14, 2022 from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
@oceanwildthings

Archives

Ocean Wild Things | Copyright ©2025 | All Rights Reserved