[caption id="attachment_5281" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Amanda Fletcher[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] A Long Way Home! Gray whales migrate as much as 12,000 miles every year – from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea down south to the warm waters of Baja California where they give birth in winter before returning back to the Bering Sea. ...
[caption id="attachment_5279" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Jill Ehring[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] Extended Families! There are 6 subspecies of brown pelicans, all similar in appearance, but differing in their geographical distribution. Keen sight! Brown Pelicans can spot fish from 20-60 feet above the ocean surface. ...
[caption id="attachment_5277" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Scott Hassler[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] Fast Grower! Giant Kelp grows faster than bamboo, which is the fastest growing plant on land. It can grow up to 1-2 feet/day and can reach 175 feet in height. ...
[caption id="attachment_5275" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Chad King/SIMoN[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] There are 102 species worldwide and 65 species of rockfish off of the Pacific Coast You’re How Old?!?! Many rockfish can live hundreds of years. Rougheye rockfish are the longest known living fish on earth and can live over 200 years! That means that a rockfish on your dinner plate tonight could have been alive when Lewis & Clark set out on their famous expedition to explore unknown territories...
[caption id="attachment_5273" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright NOAA National Ocean Service[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] Whales Sing! Scientists have discovered that humpback whales sing long, complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and can be repeated continuously for hours! And, did you know? Pods of humpback whales from different geographical...
[caption id="attachment_5271" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Ian Sayers/SIMoN[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] On the Menu Tonight! Abalone are a type of edible sea snail and their meat is a highly sought after food. Handle with Care! Abalone blood has no clotting mechanism and if injured they will bleed to death. ...
[caption id="attachment_5269" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Robert Schwemmwer/SIMoN[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] No other nose like it! Elephant seals get their name from their large ‘elephant-like’ nose (proboscis) Males fight each other in often bloody, violent battles for dominance. They can weigh more than 5,000 lbs and reach lengths of 16 feet! Back from the Brink! Elephant seals were aggressively hunted to near extinction for their oil until legal protection was put into place, first in Mexico and then in the...
[caption id="attachment_5267" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Steve Lonhart[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] A furry success story in the making? Sea Otters were thought to be extinct in California until a small population was found off the coast of Big Sur in 1938. However, despite years of federal and state protection, their numbers have only recovered to a fraction of what they once were. Predictors of ocean health! New research aims to shed light on this slow population recovery and recent...
[caption id="attachment_5265" align="alignright" width="240"] Photo copyright Kate Cummings[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] Bigger than the dinosaurs! Blue whales are the largest animals to ever live on earth. A Big Heart! Their tongues can weigh as much as an elephant and their hearts as much as a Volkswagen Bug! A record year of whales! 2010 represented a remarkable year for upwelling in the Monterey Bay producing extremely high concentrations of krill. It was this abundant krill that brought unusually large numbers of...
[caption id="attachment_5262" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo copyright Kate Cummings[/caption] [edgtf_unordered_list style="circle" animate="yes" font_weight=""] Giant Ocean Sunfish get their name from their leisurely hobby of sunbathing. Guinness World Record Holders! Sunfish hold three world records for their size, growth rate, and reproduction. Heavy Weights! Sunfish are the world’s heaviest bony fish reaching almost 5,000 lbs in weight and over 10 feet in length! Champion Body Builders! Sunfish are also the world champions of vertebrate growth. From the time they hatch as little baby...
