Oceans Alive! More Whale Tales from the Field... Monterey Bay

Goodbye to Monterey Bay... Almost

Hello again from Amanda Banks, freelance writer and Planet Whale's researcher out in the field. Having been in California for over a month, it is almost time for me to move on and bring you fresh whale tales from Peru. But not before I give you a couple of tantalising stories from Monterey Bay to encourage you to visit this exceptional whale lover's paradise.

There are a fair few places around the world claiming to be the 'Whale Watching Capital of the World!' Monterey Bay certainly has the right to lay claim to this title. After all, its extensive list of whales and dolphins who either visit or reside in the bay includes some hot cetacean favourites such as the stunning Humpbacks, magnificent Blue whales and charismatic Killer whales.

From the Mouth of a Conservationist... Peggy Stap's Thrilling Encounters with Whales and Dolphins

Peggy Stap of Marine Life Studies, the conservationist I have been assisting while staying in Monterey, conducts her research primarily on Orcas, (Killer Whales). But she has plenty of stories up her sleeve about all of the ocean giants. Here are three tales of amazing encounters she has had during her years working as a cetacean researcher in Monterey Bay:

In 2005 Peggy was out on research with a volunteer. Two Orcas were close to the boat, with another further away. The boat was stationery and Peggy was lowering the hydrophone into the water to record their vocalisations. She heard a "Kerplunk" and looked up to see the third Orca pop its head up ten feet from the boat. Then it disappeared again. Through the headphones she heard a "Ssshhh, sshhhhh" sound. What was making this strange noise? She gave a little tug on the lead and to her surprise there was a tug back. She tugged again and felt another stronger tug back. Suddenly she realised that she was engaged in a tug of war with an Orca. The Orca, with its inquisitive nature had come to investigate the hydrophone, taken it in its mouth and was now pulling it away from the boat. For a minute or two Peggy was worried it might tear the hydrophone from the lead, but a moment later it let go. For the next 45 minutes the recorder, which was accidentally left running, recorded an ongoing conversation along the lines of, "Did you see that, it had it in its mouth! What shall we do now? Do we put it back in? What if it comes and grabs it again? Can you believe that? I know, I know, that was incredible, it had it in its mouth...!"

In 2010, Peggy was out on research with new volunteers. They had spotted a Blue whale quite far from the boat but then it had vanished again. 45 minutes later they were sitting with the engine off and the hydrophone in the water, trying to locate Orcas by their vocalisations. Out of nowhere the Blue whale surfaced about 400 yards from the boat. Then it kept surfacing and circling round until it was heading straight for their boat. 80 feet of Blue whale headed straight for the stern of their 19 foot boat. By now, Peggy had got the video camera going and was thinking "I hope I've got this in frame!" The volunteers experienced a mixture of awe and fear that the whale might ram the boat. Peggy had to "Sssshh" all their exclamations so she could capture the sound of its blow on the video. The Blue whale came within 10 feet of the boat and then dived giving them the best possible view of its magnificent fluke before it disappeared into the depths, never to be seen by them again. When Peggy sent in the photo ID for the whale she learned that this particular individual had only ever been recorded twice before, in 1987 and 2006. Peggy says that this encounter still amazes her; it is the only time she has ever had a Blue whale come so close, it was just "unbelievable."

While working one year for the Oceanic Society, a Humpback decided to mug the boat. 'Mugging' is the term given for a curious whale who approaches a boat to investigate. It circled the boat and then started its own game with the people on board. It travelled to one side of the boat, so that all the people moved to that side and looked at it, then it dived and resurfaced on the other side. Of course all the people ran to the other side... It dived again and resurfaced on the first side, and all the people ran back to the first side... This continued for a while with the people on the boat looking like drunken sailors staggering from one side of the boat to the other and back again. Then finally, for the grand finale, the Humpback threw its tail up on the starboard side of the boat. For a glorious moment it sent its fluke arcing over the boat itself so that people had to lift their heads to see it above them before it dived down and away. Everyone on board the boat, including seasoned researchers and naturalists, turned into little awe-struck children that day, giggling and smiling their way back into port.

You Don't Have to be a Conservationist to Have Your Own Thrilling Encounter...

Peggy's vocation enables her to have close encounters with cetaceans more often than most people. But with whale watching on the increase worldwide there are more and more opportunities for us all to get out there and connect with these magnificent creatures. Most of the research Peggy and I have carried out here in Monterey Bay during the last month has been aboard two great whale watching boats; Blue Ocean Whale Watch and Princess Monterey Whale Watching. We, and members of the public, have been treated to some spectacular encounters with Orcas hunting Common dolphins, Orcas feeding on a Gray whale calf, Risso's and Pacific White-sided dolphins engaged in some pretty frisky behaviour and Humpbacks breaching. The list of species which have been spotted in the bay during May alone are: Orcas, Humpbacks, Blue whales, Gray whales, Minke whales, Cuvier's Beaked whales, Common dolphins, Risso's dolphins, Pacific White-sided dolphins and Northern Right Whale dolphins. It is amazingly early for Blue whales to have been sighted, they do not generally arrive until June, so the fact that they are here now may mean that it will be another bumper summer in Monterey Bay this year.

It is little wonder that Peggy Stap loves living and working in Monterey with the subjects of her research within such easy reach. And it is little wonder that more people are being attracted to the bay solely to have the chance of meeting some of its most beautiful inhabitants. If you decide to visit this year make sure to check out Peggy Stap and her organisation Marine Life Studies; Peggy would love to say hello and talk to you about all the great work which her organisation carries out. And whatever you do, do not miss the opportunity to get out on the water and experience the bay for yourself; Kate Cummings and Jim Davis of Blue Ocean Whale Watch and Benji Shake of Princess Monterey Whale Watching would love to have you on board!

This article featured Marine Life Studies, Blue Ocean Whale Watch and Princess Monterey Whale Watching. For more information visit: www.marinelifestudies.org, www.blueoceanwhalewatch.com, www.montereywhalewatching.com

For more accounts of Amanda's work with conservationists in USA, Peru and Canada visit: http://amandabanks.com/blog/

Copyright in dolphin / whale photographs belongs to Peggy Stap, Marine Life Studies

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