Orcas breaching video

From the Los Angeles Times in the USA:

Breaching killer whales off O.C. captured on video

January 24, 2012 | 9:42 am

Whales are continuing to put on a show for tour boats and sightseers along the Southern California coast as they migrate south to Mexico.

Dozens of killer whales were spotted last week along the coast from Dana Point to Long Beach, delighting people lucky enough to see them.

A pod of roving orcas was first spotted in early January. Then last week, 20 to 40 of the marine mammals were spotted.

It’s shaping up to be a good season for whale watching, after spotters reported record sightings of gray whales in December -– more than they had seen in 28 years.

Davey’s Locker in Newport Beach has posted several spectacular photos and videos taken during this month’s excursions, including one video of breaching orcas.

“Whale watching has been good; we’ve been seeing quite a few blue whales and fin whales,” employee Ty Gevas said.

— Kimi Yoshino and Tony Barboza

Video credit: Davey’s locker

1980s whale rescue subject of new Drew Barrymore film: here.

What do killer whales eat in the Arctic? Here.

The fate of the world’s great whale species commands global attention as a result of heated debate between pro and anti-whaling advocates, but the fate of smaller marine mammals is less understood, specifically because the deliberate and accidental catching and killing of dolphins, porpoises, manatees, and other warm-blooded aquatic species are rarely studied or monitored: here.

Discovery Animals: Blue Whales Keep Getting Bigger: here.

Guest Post: True Confessions of a Dolphin-Loving Marine Biologist: here.

A coalition of conservation and American Indian groups today sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect thousands of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions from U.S. Navy warfare training exercises along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington: here.

Why Are Dolphins Beaching Themselves? Here.

How dolphins focus beams of sound: here.

Navy Training Blasts Marine Mammals With Harmful Sonar: here.

May 2012. Mexico’s Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources report a record number of calves (almost 1200) born in the birthing lagoons of Baja this year. It is heartening to hear of the increase in the grey whale population – a far cry from the days when the species was almost hunted to extinction in those same lagoons: here.