One of the great pleasures in traveling in the US is the chance to explore its many scenic highways, national parks and water bodies. There are breathtaking coastal drives which offer abundant natural beauty.
Monterey, 75 miles south of San Francisco, coast of Pacific ocean, is a historic town of USA and has a few landmarks to be visited apart from the whale den. Custom House a oldest government building of California, Novelist Robert Stevenson hose where he stayed in 1849 which is now turned into museum and few other other old buildings which are important to Californians. My son and I came here to see whales. This place is where there are 99% chance of seeing whales – which whale depends on season. There are over 40 species of whales and some more yet to be explored.
Spanish navigator Sebastian Vizcanio first landed here in 1602 and name the bay after name of his patron- Count of Monterey. But first settlement started in California in 1770 as Spanish colony.
Spain’s vast imperial power in Americas was slipping and in 1821 Mexico got independence from Spain in Mexican war of independence. Under Mexican rule the trade happened from Britain, America and South America. To collect custom duty from the ship this custom house was constructed. It is the OLDEST Government building of present day California. On July, 1846 during Mexican-American War, US commander John Drake hoisted American flag to signal the passing of California from Mexico to American rule during the American Conquest of California.
Blue whales are not only biggest creature on Earth but also biggest creatures ever lived on Earth and even bigger than any dinosaurs lived so far. They are living since 50 million years. Blue whales live up to 80 years.
Hippos are closest relatives of whale living today but they are not their ancestors. Whales evolved to live in sea as only ocean can feed them.
Whales come in this part of Pacific ocean in search of warmer water and for breeding. Whales are mammals and just like us are warm blooded, give birth to live young and feed their milk. A newborn whale baby is 23 feet long. Baby often stays with mother together for about a year in total.
Whales do not have gills and so they have to come on surface in interval of 5 minutes to 1 hour. Normal fish breath with gills which they extract oxygen from water while whale extract oxygen from air. Humans utilize only 15% of oxygen from air while whales utilize up to 90%. This helps whales to live in sea for longer time without breathing. Their blowholes are on top and that makes them easier to breath and sleep by floating.
Whales also sing in melody. Humpback whales are best singer whales. The song of whales last about 30 minutes and feature different themes. During singing they produce high and low frequency powerful pulses in repetitive fashion. Scientists have identified 184 distinct melodies recorded in one area over a three year period. Research is going on still as to why whales sing. A great pity that we can’t communicate with these wondrous animals, we might learn much from them.
Whales sleep in intervals as they have to be conscious of their oxygen level and so come out of sea surface, So they never are fully asleep. Sperm whales sleep vertically up while other whales sleep horizontally.
Despite being the largest living animal in the world the blue whales diet primarily consists of krill (1-2 cm long). whales may eat as many as 40 million krill per day. During migration whales can live without food for 4 months as they use their stored fat for energy.
Looking at a whale’s body and biology, there are plenty of clues that their ancestors lived on land as they breathe air and nurse their young with their own milk like land animals. A young blue whale baby needs 23 liters of milk everyday.
I can say that these are ‘sea lions’ as they are very social and live in group. There are hundreds of sea lions seen in Monterey swimming along with whales.
Epilogue
Its is one the very few places in world for whale watching. It is a week end get away from San Francisco. Boats are big and you can enjoy 4 hours in ship and feel the motion sickness to prepare yourself for long voyages in future.
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