Ocean Institute Cruise Participants Enjoy Rare Humpback Whale Sighting
DANA POINT, CA, March 13, 2007 - Participants in last Saturday's Ocean Institute Marine Mammal Exploration cruise enjoyed a rare sighting of a humpback whale, reported Melissa Panfili, an instructor on the cruise. The Institute's R/V Sea Explorer was four miles off Dana Point when they observed a single, approximately 50-foot humpback.
"We were all amazed," remarked Panfili. "Most of us had never seen one in this area before."
The humpback was engaging in "lunge feeding," a process by which the whale circles around a school of fish, blowing bubbles to round them up into a group. The whale then lunges into the school, gulping down hundreds of the small fish at a time.
The Explorer's crew was looking for the more common gray whale, which migrates down California's coast in the springtime, as well as dolphins and other ocean wildlife. The humpback sighting was a special bonus, noted Panfili.
The Institute offers weekend Marine Mammal Exploration Cruises to provide participants with a ship-board view of whales, dolphins, sunfish, sea lions, and other creatures of the sea. Institute marine biologists lead the cruises onboard the Sea Explorer, which makes use of state-of-the-art equipment such as an acoustic array, plankton nets, video microscopes and a sediment sampler. A dolphin camera will provide an underwater view of these animals riding the bow wave.
Trips last 2.5 hours; upcoming trips are March 18 and 25; cruises are 1 - 3:30 p.m., with some additional cruises 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
The cost of the Marine Mammal Exploration Cruises is $35 adults, $22 for children, ages 4-12 (for Institute members, $22 adults, $19 children). Cost includes admission to the Ocean Education Center. For more information, visit www.ocean-institute.org or call (949) 496-2274.
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