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(Mexico City - Feb 1, 2005) Environmental authorities said 877 gray whales have arrived
so far in the sanctuary established for them in Baja California, and they are
expecting the total to exceed the 2,280 registered in the last season.
Environment and Natural Resources officials said
in a statement that the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, in the San Ignacio and
Ojo de Liebre lagoons of Baja California Sur state, is awaiting the arrival of
more of the whales, known as the Pacific gray, California Gray.
The scientific name for the species is eschrichtius robustus.
In the 2003-2004 cycle, officials counted 2,280 of the
whales, "and the tendency in the present season makes us believe that the number
for this year will be similar or greater." Counts conducted since 1996 point to a permanent rise in the
number of gray whales, officials said.
Environmentalists have recently blocked the development of
Baja Lagoons by Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi. The planned salt
evaporation facilities and increased shipping traffic were deemed harmful to the
fragile environment in which these marine mammals come to give birth.
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Whale watching has become a popular and lucrative ecotourism
activity in Baja California, creating jobs and generating income for locals. The
Gray Whale is one of the most exciting to observe of all large whales with their
aerobatic displays of spy hopping, lob tailing and breaching. The Gray can grow to
a length and weight of 15m (50ft) 30-35 tons for the female and 14m (46ft) 16
tons for the male. This whale is known for the 19,500km (12,000 mile) round trip
between its northern feeding grounds in the Artic and birthing grounds in Baja
California.
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There used to be three main populations of Gray whales. The
North Atlantic population was hunted to extinction in the early 20th century.
The Western Pacific population summers in the waters of the Chukchi Sea and
spends the winter in the waters off Korea. These whales continue to be
threatened and are extremely rare. The Eastern Pacific population is on the
recovery over the last 20 years. Gray whales, which were nearly hunted to extinction in the
20th century, were removed from the endangered list in 1994 and now number more
than 25,000.
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The Gray whale can be observed in December to April in
Mexico. The main breeding lagoons in Mexico are Ojo de Liebre, Guerrero
Negro, San Ignacio, Scammon's and the Magdalena Bay complex.
During April to November the whales inhabit their
Arctic feeding grounds in the northern Bering Sea.
The map below shows the migration route
of the Gray Whales from the summer feeding grounds in the Artic (red)
along the coast of North America to the winter breeding grounds in Baja
California. (yellow)
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