Humpback Whales Pay A Visit To San Francisco
Photo credit: Giancarlo Thomae/Sanctuary Cruises via SFGate.com
A trio of humpback whales were spotted this week in San Francisco Bay, inside the Golden Gate.
Mary Jane Schramm of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marince Sanctuary told SFGate.com: “We get a lot of gray whales around this time of year, but to get three humpbacks is really special.”
The whales are not believed to be in any trouble, but are most likely following food.
“It’s certainly unusual that they would come inside the Bay, but if they are chasing a shoal of fish they are going to pursue it wherever it goes,” Schramm said. “There is no indication that there is anything wrong with them.”
A KTVU helicopter recorded some video of the whales doing their thing Wednesday morning. They set the video to music.
According to SFGate.com:
The last time humpbacks were spotted in the Bay was in 2007 when a mother and a calf, possibly injured by a run-in with a boat propeller, wandered roughly 80 miles up the Sacramento River. The two were eventually turned back after extensive efforts to coax them in the right direction.
The Bay’s most famous whale visitor was Humphrey the Humpback, who also made his way up the Sacramento River twice, in 1985 and 1990. In both cases, marine biologists were able to persuade him to return to the open ocean.
Belugas visiting Newport, RI and Humpbacks in San Francisco … Marine Mammal Tourist Season is here.
