A Little Whale Balance Toy Information
Whale-watching is popular all along the Pacific Coast. Our Whale Balance Toy is a tribute to these magnificent animals. Here in Oregon, we often see whales as they migrate past the coastal headlands.
Here's the whale-watching schedule:
December through February: Grey whales travel southbound from Alaska to Mexico. Along the Oregon coast, the migration usually reaches a peak during the first week of January at a rate of 30 animals per hour. The entire population of grey whales (over 20,000) swim past the west coast twice a year, traveling between summer feeding in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and their nursery and breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico. The full round-trip migration from the Baja calving lagoons to the Bering Sea and back is 10,000 miles (16,000 km), the longest known for any mammal. Grey whales are medium-sized, up to 45 feet long. Their dark, slate grey skin is covered with white patches caused by barnacles and parasites.
February through April: Grey whales northbound from Mexico to Alaska. By March, whales already are returning northward along the Oregon coast. Mothers with calves travel last, staying closer to the shore and moving slowly, making this one of the best times to see them.
June through October: Blue whales and humpback whales can be seen along the Big Sur coast in California and around the Channel Islands. Blue whales are largest animal on earth, 70 to 90 feet long, with a heart the size of a small car. They're blue-grey in color, with light grey mottling. Long and streamlined, with a very small dorsal fin and long, thin pectoral flippers.
April to early December: Humpback whales along the central California coast. Humpbacks are 50- to 55-foot long, dark-colored with distinctive bumps on their noses. Their pectoral flippers are long, nearly a third of their body length.
May through September: Orcas (killer whales) near Washington's San Juan Islands. These are the very recognizable black and white whales.
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