And the Good News is:

The good news, despite the recent oil spill in San Francisco Bay, is that passengers on SF Bay Whale Watching trips have been sighting marine mammals in the Gulf of the Farallones as usual, and in abundance.




As an example of that vitality take a look at these extraordinary shots that photographer Ed Estes took last Sunday of some California Sea Lions leaping clear out of the sea - something we’re far more apt to see during mating season...I’m no marine biologist, but hey, doesn’t it just make sense?


That’s a Blue Whale’s flukes you’re looking at in the photo above. This has been a good season for Blue Whale sightings so far, the counts seem higher than last year although I haven’t seen any official records. It gets to me every time I read the opening line in the Blue Whale chapter of the Audubon Guide to Marine Mammals of the World: “ Blue Whales are the largest animals ever to live in our planet’s history.” Think massive dinosaur, then think bigger...way bigger.



Another superlative for the Blue Whale is their loud voice - the loudest in the animal kingdom. Their low-frequency sounds are capable of traveling hundreds of miles in deep water. Researchers cannot say with certainty if the whales emit these sounds as deliberate communication or to image underwater features such as seamounts for orientation and navigation.



There were Humpback Whales out last Sunday too (see photo above). Good thing because Brent, second from right in this family group portrait, was gathering material for an “in-depth” school report on marine mammals. Family member Theresa Daniel (on the far right) was taking photos - that report’s looking like a sure-thing “A” to me...


Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.