Meeting: Friday, Jan. 13th, 5:00 pm, Fletcher Cove Community Center, 133 Pacific Ave.
Program Title: “From the Arctic to Baja, the Migration of the Gray Whale”.
Significance: More than fifteen thousand Gray Whales swim by Solana Beach from mid-December to mid-February in the longest migration of any mammal.
Presented by: San Diego Natural History Museum (the NAT) Volunteer Naturalist Jim Nelson.
Presentation: Using photos and slides from the NAT, Birch Aquarium at Scripps, plates from the seminal work on Grays, “Eye of the Whale” by Dick Russell, and his own personal photos, Jim will trace the journey from the feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas to the breeding and birthing areas in three lagoons in Baja California. He also will review a period in the middle of the nineteenth century and another in the early part of the twentieth century when the Grays were slaughtered to near extinction and discuss their remarkable comeback that has permitted their removal from the Endangered Species List.
Bonus: Refreshments will be served.