Tag Archives: Northern Right Whale Dolphins

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With the ocean looking like glass last Saturday, there were a lot of great sightings. The greatest of them all was the sighting of Blue Whales. A mother and her calf were seen off of The Sea Ranch.

Jodi Smith, of Naked Whale Research, went out of Fort Bragg and found another Blue Whale.

Blue Whales are the largest animal on earth. And they are on the endangered species list, as their recovery from the days of whaling has been slow. To see a mother with a calf is such a good sign.
To Jodi's joy she also saw several Northern Right Whale Dophins.
 They rose next to the boat and rode the bow for a while. You can read about Jodi's excellent day on the water on her blog at: http://orcinusorca.wix.com/nawhare-temp/apps/blog
And to learn more about Jodi's Naked Whale Research, which studies Killer Whales, here is that website:
Thanks to Jodi for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Ron Le Valley recently photographed several Northern Right Whale Dolphins, Lissodelphis borealis, off the Mendocino Coast. These are small, slender Dolphins found in the North Pacific Ocean. They have no fins or ridges on their smooth, curving backs. They are quite shy and usually avoid boats. They travel in groups of two to two hundred but much larger pods have been seen. In the open ocean, they can travel fast, making low leaps together. These Dolphins are just a little bigger than a grown man. One of their favorite foods is Squid.

To see much more of Ron's work, here's a link to his web site: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/home/ And I thank Ron for allowing me to share his beautiful photo with you here.