Gray Whale Seen Inside The Gate

Here at SF Bay Whale Watching we encourage you to "Get Outside The Gate" - travel with us beyond the Golden Gate for a chance to see whales and other marine mammals. Last Thursday the tables turned and a Gray Whale decided to venture inside the Gate, most likely in search of an easy meal. (See SFGate story from April 25, 2008)

When I read about the Gray Whale seen under the Golden Gate Bridge and just beyond Crissy Field last Thursday I remembered that this happened last year too. See Sea Worthy Blog entry dated March 11, 2007 where a reader reports seeing a whale near Crissy Field on May 6, 2007. That earlier blog has information about the Grays' shallow water feeding habits, and in retrospect makes that visit inside the Gate logical.


As Gray Whales migrate towards their feeding grounds at the Bering Sea at this time of year we often hear about sightings near Sausalito, Tiburon or other spots in the Bay. Sometimes we're asked what kind of whale they're seeing.

The easiest way to differentiate a Gray from a Humpback for the casual observer would be to look for a dorsal fin - you won't find one on a Gray. So when the whale dives, and its' back arches you'll see something more like "knuckles" along its backbone. Another ID give-a-way are the whitish spots (... the Gray's coloration reminds me of a linoleum pattern.)

It is assumed that the Gray that was seen inside the Gate last week had a nice meal, took in the sights and safely resumed his or her 5,000 mile migration north. Such was not the harmless idyll for another Gray Whale that wandered about 12 miles from the mouth of the Eel River, off California's north coast.

Students and a professor from Humboldt State University freed the Gray that was snarled in and trailing about 50 feet of crab-pot lines and several marker buoys. (See SFGate whale rescue story from April 27, 2008, and Sea Worthy Blog entry on whale rescue techniques dated December 16, 2006.)

Chances are still much better that you'll see a whale (and without cargo) outside the Gate.

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.