Sperm whale spawn big interest in California Coast

MARINE MAMMALS — There’s no wildlife news bigger than this on the West Coat this week:

More than 50 sperm whales emerged off the Southern California coast in an extremely rare, hours-long sighting that had whale watchers and scientists giddy with excitement.

Pods of mothers and juveniles rolled and played with dolphins Monday a few miles off Laguna Beach, the Orange County Register reported. They later were spotted off San Diego and were heading south, said Jay Barlow, a sperm whale expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It’s by far the largest group ever spotted so near to shore in Southern California, Barlow said Tuesday.

• Adult  males reach 50 feet in length and weigh 60 tons.  Newborn calves are about 13 feet long and weigh 1.1 tons.
• The Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) is the largest animal on Earth. The Orca, or Killer whale , grow as long as 31 feet, making it the largest dolphin. The Sperm whale may not be the biggest whale, but it has the biggest brain to have ever existed on Earth.

The massive mammals were spread out over an area of up to 3 square miles and came within inches of boats, said David Anderson, who operates Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari sightseeing tours.

Sperm whales are the huge, toothed creatures mentioned in the novel “Moby Dick.” They were hunted nearly to extinction for oil in the 1800s. The whales weigh up to 45 tons and eat about a ton of squid a day. Usually, only one or two adult males show up each summer or fall, while large groups of females normally are found in warmer waters, Barlow said. However, this year has seen a lot of warmer water close to shore, he said.