Gray whale breaching
A Canadian woman was killed and two others were injured when a gray whale collided with their excursion boat off the resort city of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. One report said that the whale breached and landed on the boat filled with 24 people.
Gray whales have a complex history of interacting with people. When they were hunted by whalers in the 19th century, they earned the nickname “devil fish” for aggressively attacking the whale boats and killing or maiming up to 20% of the whalers who came after them. Despite their aggressive behavior, gray whales along the coast of Mexico and California were hunted to near extinction.
With the end of whaling in the United States in 1936, the gray whale population has slowly recovered, from only several hundred whales to over 20,000 today. The population is still only one fourth to one third the the estimated pre-whaling size. Once whaling ended, the gray whales stopped their aggressive behavior and over time, whale watching in the lagoons of the Baja peninsula and the sea of Cortez grew increasingly popular.
In the 1970s, something remarkable happened. A few gray whales started to approach whale watching boats and to appear to seek out contact with humans. These whales became known as “friendlies.” They not only approach whale watching boats but in some cases appear to enjoy being touched the passengers. Mothers have been observed bringing their calves over to the watch watching boats as well.
It is possible that the breaching that led to the death of the Canadian tourist was “friendly” behavior that was miscalculated by the whale. In any case, most gray whales range in weight from 15 to 33 tons, which can do considerable damage to a boat and its passengers.
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I remember reading about “devil fish” when I was a kid, but I never realized they were talking about gray whales. Interesting that the aggression went away when we stopped being a threat.
Funny thing is that there are several different “devil fish.” Manta and eagle rays have also been called “devil fish.”
The change in gray whale behavior is interesting. It suggests a high level of communication and learning between the whales themselves.
I read today about how African elephants we’re being maimed and killed by mines and they worked out how to get around the problem by teaching themselves how to avoid them. They are now being used for mine clearance. They can pick out explosives even masked by other chemicals and their trunks are 1300 times more sensitive than a dog, they work longer, are easier to train and live much longer.
Like whales, they are highly intelligent animals and we should not be surprised by such animals adapting to new circumstances.