Boaters Beware: “See a blow, go slow!”

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ― Autumn is known for fall festivals and costume parties, but is it known for whales frolicking in our local ocean? A pod of 10 killer whales were spotted multiple times along the Southern California coast in early October. A gray whale was seen riding the surf in Newport Beach on Oct. 24. Is October an unusual month for whale sightings? Whale sightings are possible any day of the year especially with so many different species – killer whales, gray whales, humpback whales, fin whales, blue whales, minke whales and more, according to Alisa Schulman-Janiger, researcher and co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project. The Oct. 24 sighting off Newport Beach was a juvenile gray whale, Schulman-Janiger confirmed. Schulman-Janiger said the gray whale migration season from Alaska to Baja California is usually between December and February, “but it is not unusual to see several early grays in October and November, especially juveniles. “Juveniles often migrate close to shore and spend more time exploring (curious young mammals) – even in harbors and bays,” Schulman-Janiger added. Bigg’s, or transient killer whales, on the other hand, travel up and down the coast at anytime of the year in search of food. Their diet consists of sea...