A Whale's Tale
by Jen Pukonen, Tofino
Perched on the edge of the barnacle encrusted rocks, my heart races
with excitement in hope that it might resurface. Only seconds later
it does, taking one last powerful breath before diving to feed. I am
left with a pungent smell from the mist of its breath. To catch a glimpse
of a migrating gray whale is a truly incredible experience. Humbled
by the magnificence of the whale, I marvel at the vast and mysterious
ocean that surrounds us here in Tofino on the West Coast of Vancouver
Island.
Often travelling more than 16,000 km, these impressive creatures
make one of the longest migrations of any mammal on earth. Not unlike
many
of us, gray whales are lured down to the warm sparkling waters along
the coast of the Baja California in Mexico during the winter months.
For newborn whales, born with little blubber, the shallow lagoons of
the Baja provide warmth and shelter. However, they don't spend
long in their southern mating and calving lagoons. By mid-February
newly pregnant females, adult males and juvenile whales begin the long
swim north. About six weeks later females and their new calves follow.
En route to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi
Seas the whales hug the coastline as they swim, often travelling within
3 km of the shore. It is thought that they navigate using bottom contours,
familiar land marks, ocean currents as well as possibly the earth's
magnetic field to guide them. As many as 50 gray whales spend their
summer feeding along the coastline of BC, while the majority continue
North. By mid-June the whales have reached their destination, timed
perfectly for the peak of the Arctic summer. The high productivity
that results from close to 24 hours of daylight makes the Northern
waters rich feeding grounds. After months of feeding, decreasing daylight
and food supplies signal the coming of the cold weather and the pregnant
females again lead the return migration southward. After an 8000 km
non-stop swim from the Arctic, the cycle of birth and mating continues
once again.
The resident gray whales that remain along our coastline during the
summer have provided an exciting opportunity for researchers interested
in studying linkages between whales and the coastal temperate rainforest.
Whales and trees? Surprisingly the two may have more in common than
you might have expected.
The environment of the West Coast is characterized by the constant
interaction between the land and the sea. Because of our proximity
to the ocean, Tofino often receives more than 3.5 metres of precipitation
annually, in the form of rain, drizzle, fog and mist. Our wind-swept,
rain drenched coastline is home to more than one-quarter of the world's
remaining coastal temperate rainforests, an ecosystem generally defined
and driven by rain, and lots of it.
The ocean provides the moisture for the rainforests, but the forests
also give back to the ocean and the whales. Rain that falls on the
forests eventually makes its way back to the ocean and the water
cycle begins again. In a healthy forest ecosystem, small bits of soil
and
leaves wash into streams and rivers when it rains. These streams
and rivers feed into larger rivers, which eventually wind their way
into
the ocean. Along the way, the small pieces of organic matter breakdown
into nutrient rich water. Upon reaching the ocean the nutrient rich
waters will become food for small plants called phytoplankton. Tiny
worms and crustaceans, which are a preferred food of the gray whale,
feed upon the phytoplankton. So, the rainforest is part of the food
web of the gray whale! When you take a closer look, things are often
much more closely related than you may have thought. Throughout time,
cultures from around the world have shared this perception of the
Earth, as one of wholeness, one in which everything is one and interconnected.
Tofino Whale watching articles