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Ocean Wild Things

Always ask naturalists questions

February 21, 2015 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

Some friends went on a cruise to Alaska and were excited to tell me about all the ocean wildlife they saw and all the interesting facts they learned. In particular, they were very eager to discuss whale evolution. My friend exclaimed, “We learned from the naturalist on board that whales descended from kangaroos!” My reaction,… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: artiodactyl, cetacean, dolphin, evolution, fact checking, mammal, Mesonychid, naturalists, porpoise, whale, whale evolution

Look at the size of that gray whale penis!

February 1, 2014 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

On Sunday, January 26, 2014, a lucky group of whale watchers got to witness gray whales mating just off the backside of Catalina Island. This exciting encounter included a great flash of a gray whale’s penis. Suddenly a male’s privates were not so private if you know what I mean. It’s not super common to… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: cetacean, gray whale, gray whales mating, nature photography, whale, whale penis, 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

A video of the Port River dolphins

September 9, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

I received an email from Paul and Debbie Huxtable, two Australian wildlife photographers who have generously shared photos and information in the past about the Port River dolphins. They’ve been very busy developing a music video about the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary to raise awareness of the plight of this special pod of dolphins. There are… [read more]

Filed Under: Dolphins Tagged With: bottlenose dolphin, cetacean, dolphin, port river dolphins, wildlife photography

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

Happy World Oceans Day!

June 8, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

Today is World Oceans Day! It’s the perfect time to head to the beach, frolic in the waves and make a splash. It’s also the perfect time to recycle, bring a reusable tote shopping and make a donation to your favorite ocean non-profit. Whatever you decide to do today, take some time to thank the… [read more]

Filed Under: Ocean events Tagged With: bottlenose dolphin, cetacean, dolphin, World Oceans Day

A whale watching weekend

March 24, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

This weekend I had the chance to go whale watching and I’m so glad I did! My friends and I boarded the Christopher in Long Beach Saturday morning along with 100 other people and headed out to see what we could see. The first whale we came across turned out to be a fin whale,… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: cetacean, common dolphin, fin whale, flukes, gray whale, humpback whale, nature photography, whale, whale watching, wildlife photography

Gray whales are heading north!

March 19, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

Yesterday, the volunteers at the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project had a whale of a day so to speak. They spotted 27 gray whales headed north! But that’s not all, they also saw tons of other wildlife doing all sorts of interesting things. Here’s a quick recap: Bottlenose dolphins playing with one of… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: bottlenose dolphin, breach, cetacean, common dolphin, dolphin, fin whale, humpback whale, Pacific white-sided dolphin, pinniped, sea lion, whale, whale watching

Point Dume wildlife bonanza

February 6, 2013 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

Spending Sunday morning at Point Dume turned into a wildlife bonanza with ocean views and sunny skies. In less than one hour I had the chance to see: A gray whale milling about right near shore! California sea lions porpoising and hanging out on the rocks. California brown pelicans watching the waves. Western gulls relaxing… [read more]

Filed Under: Animal encounters, Birds, Seals, sea lions, Whales Tagged With: bird, California brown pelican, cetacean, gray whale, sanderling, sea lion, western gull, whale watching

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