Gray whales next to the boat! Heidi's birthday present January 24, 2004 Mindy Shaffner photo.
Click on image to
view a larger image All Pictures by Heidi Tiura
unless otherwise noted.
While some whales such as blues rarely fluke, grays often do,
especially on their southbound migration.
Courtesy of our friend Cindy Hanson, naturalist at Mosquito Fleet in Puget Sound. Cindy also works in San Ignacio Lagoon on Baja which is
where she got this shot.
A southbound gray whale
flukes off Cypress Point.
That's Pebble Beach in the background.
Photo by Ed Hughes.
Gray whales often swim very close
to each other, perhaps drafting
off the whale ahead. There are
three whales here.
Photo by Steve Johnston.
Here are two whales, both upside down. They were so busy attempting to mate that they swam right up to our boat! Note the two throat grooves on the whale farthest to right.
Grays often show mating
behavior here in the spring.
This whale is sliding on top
of the gray whale below.
Gray whales are dark gray at birth. They scar white.
Every angle of a whale's tail shows different characteristics.
Photo by Nadya Ramsaroop.
Double flukes!
Photo by Ian Sewell.
Whales' blows turn into rainbows
in the right light.
Photo by Ed Hughes.
