LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Whales (Ecotourism): North Pacific
built 805 days ago
Bowhead whales were hunted by commercial whalers for over four centuries, beginning in the North Atlantic in the 1500s and ending in the North Pacific by the mid-1900s. Bowhead whales are capable of breaking through sea ice at least 8 inches thick; some Eskimo hunters have reported whales surfacing through 2 feet of thick ice.
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Coming back, the whales travel much more leisurely and stay closer to shore—within a half mile is not unusual. The non-breeding males and females lead the way back with some early birds starting in late February. They may even pass stragglers still heading south. The northward migration continues at a slower pace and mothers with young don’t usually appear until May.
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More than half of the living right whales in the Western North Atlantic have experienced at least one ship-strike or net entanglement. The species is at risk from collisions with ships and entanglement in nets because it is relatively slow-moving, spends a fair amount of time near the surface, and lives in the midst of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. At least a third of the deaths in this population each year are thought to be directly linked to human activities.
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The biologists and veterinarians who had been working to help guide the whales back to the Pacific Ocean were unable to attach a telemetry tag to the mother whale because of a malfunction with the tag. That means it likely will be impossible to track the mother and calf unless they are spotted in the ocean and identified by their skin markings.
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If you want to see whales in their natural habitat then Vancouver Island is the place to be. Whether you are visiting the southern tip of the island, the West Coast, or the northern shores whale-watching opportunities abound.
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*** Loss of gene diversity experienced by North Atlantic right whales over the last century has been modest. Any significant reduction in genetic variation in the species most likely occurred prior to the late 19th century.
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