oceans

We Have the Right Whale

This week we’re meeting some plankton eaters! And today we’re meeting a whale that winters off the Georgia coast! In fact they are our state marine mammal! Woohoo! Let’s learn some cool stuff about these giants of the ocean!

Right whale fun facts:

• Right whales are divided into two species, the Northern and the Southern. We’re meeting the North Atlantic right whale today!
• These whales inhabit the ocean waters of the coast of North America.

• North Atlantic right whales grow up to 52 feet in length and weigh up to 70 tons! Wow!
• North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered. There are around 400 of these amazing creatures left.
• These baleen whales are carnivores. They feed on plankton like krill. They skim these tiny prey from the water using their baleen.
• They feed generally in spring through fall in the cold waters of the Northern Atlantic Ocean near Canada.

• Female north Atlantic right whales are larger than the males.
• Females migrate to the waters off of Georgia and Florida to calve. They have one baby at a time.
• Northern right whales are slow swimmers and tend to stay near the surface.
• They are often in danger of boat strikes. In their protected habitats, boats must keep slow speeds.
• Scientist believe these giants live up to 50 years and maybe even up to 100 years.
• There are great conservation efforts going on to protect these whales. They are one of the most endangered whale in the ocean today. Fortunately they have been protect since the 1930s, but recovery has been slow. You can learn more about those efforts from the NOAA website on them.

Protecting the earth’s creatures and the habitats we share starts with all of us. These whales along with other ocean dwelling animals can be found with plastic in their stomachs. Make sure your plastic goods go into a recycling bin and never into wild habitats! Let’s do it for the Right Whale!

WORLD WHALE DAY!

We love the Northern Right Whale! They are state marine mammal of Georgia! They come to our coasts in the winter to have their calves!

We’re having a cetacean celebration today! Woohoo for World Whale Day! We’ll be sharing fun facts and a narwhal coloring sheet! Let’s get this party started!

• Whales are marine mammals! They live in every ocean on the planet!
• Being a mammal- whales should have hair, but they don’t! Well, they do have small hairs on their face when they are born and then the hair falls out!
• The largest animal on earth is a blue whale! Their heart is the size of a VW beetle!

• Sperm whales can dive up to 1 miles below the surface.

• Whales are divided in to two groups; toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales have teeth to eat their prey. Baleen whales have long fibers in their mouth to eat plankton.
• Male narwhals have an elongated tooth that sticks out of their head! They are called the unicorns of the sea!

• Bowhead whales are thought to live up to 200 years.

• Male humpback whales sing! They sing long and complex songs that can be heard up to 20 miles away.

• Killer whales are not actually whales; they are the largest member of the dolphin family!

• Gray whales are known to migrate 10,000-12,000 miles a year! They head to cold water to eat and then down to warmer waters to breed and give birth to their calves.

Woohoo! We hope you enjoyed our whale facts! We love all 30 species of these giants of the ocean! We have a narwhal coloring sheet for you to enjoy! Share your final coloring sheet with us!

GIVE THANKS TO MANATEES!

November is Manatee Appreciation Month and we’re giving thanks to these gentle creatures today with fun fact and pictures! Who else wants to smooch those sweet faces?

• Manatees are also called sea cows. These sea cows are distance relatives of Ellie’s!
• They live in coastal waters and rivers in Southern Coastal United States, South America and Western Africa. There are 3 species of manatees.

• They have strong flat tails they use to swim!
• Their nostrils sit on top to help them breathe air.
• Manatees are herbivores. They eat algae and grasses.
• They can eat 1/10th of their weight in a day.

• They can weigh up to 1,300 lbs.
• These slow swimmers have very little blubber to keep them warm. They must stay in waters above 68 degrees to survive.
• Manatees are endangered, due to pollution- getting caught in trash, hunting and boating accidents.

We know we appreciate manatees and we sure hope you do too! Let’s give thanks by keeping our oceans and waterways clean!

A WHALE OF A TRIP!

We headed to Monterey California in October and went on a whale watching trip! We spotted the famous Humpback whale! These gorgeous giants make the longest migration of any mammal on earth! Some populations travel farther than others, so let’s all learn more about these cetaceans!

• Humpback whales live in oceans all over the world.

• Humpback whales are baleen whales. They eat small prey like krill, plankton and small fish.
• They are listed as least concern by the IUCN. Some populations like the one we saw in Monterey Bay had been decimated at one time!
• They are 48-63 feet long and can weigh up to 40 tons.
• Male humpback whales sing songs! These can be heard over great distances and can go on for hours! These haunting sounds make us wish we could speak whale!
• Some populations head to waters near the poles where food is abundant in the summer and then migrate to warmer waters to calve. This migration can be as long as 1
• Humpback whales are thought to live around 80 years.

• Humpback whales have two v-shaped blowholes on top of their head.
• Females tend to be bigger than males.
• Humpback whales have long pectoral flippers that are 1/3 of their body length.
• Humpback whales have tubricales (bumps) on their head. These are unique to them and contain hair that may act like whiskers on a cat!

Humpback whales are amazing gentle giants! We had such fun looking for their tale-tail spouts when they came to the surface to breath! We saw some pectoral flipper slaps and several flukes!