Community Corner
Blue Whales Visit the South Bay on Labor Day
As many as 12 blue whales delight whale watchers this weekend—and a pod is spotted about a mile off neighboring Redondo Beach's King Harbor on Monday.
There were no flukes, no breaching whales, no blows, yet Captain Chris Batts on the Two Harbors out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach knew he was close.
Hundreds of sea birds were picking at the ocean's surface below on Sunday where huge orange swirls of krill had accumulated.
Batts instinctively pulled back on the throttles and brought the whale-watching vessel to a stop.
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Then two massive blue whales surfaced and blew off the stern.
The whale watching catamaran Christopher was there as more blue whales started to come to the surface, showing their massive flukes before making another deep dive.
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Batts now counted a dozen leviathans around the two boats—only five miles from Long Beach Harbor.
A pod of blue whales was spotted again Monday morning, closer to Hermosa Beach just about a mile off Redondo Beach’s King Harbor, according to City News Service.
Blue whales, which remain an enigma, around this same time in early September.
It is believed that blue whales give birth to their young in the Costa Rica Dome. Females are pregnant for about a year before giving birth to a calf that weighs between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds.
A nursing blue whale mother produces around 50 gallons of milk per day, resulting in their calves gaining about 10 pounds per hour.
In 1931, whale hunters killed 29,649 blue whales.
By 1966, blues were so scarce that the International Whaling Commission declared them protected throughout the world.
Now there are between 8,000 and 9,000 blue whales in the oceans, and they are considered an endangered species.
Have you seen in blue whales in the Hermosa Beach area?
