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Darke
County Senior Scribes
M O N T E R E
Y B A Y
By Delbert Blickenstaff
“The dolphin carries a loving affection….of man he is not afraid,
neither avoids him as a stranger; but of himself meets their ships,
plays and disports himself and performs a thousand frisks and gambols
before them.” Pliny the Younger, AD 61 – 113
Thus were we introduced to some of the marine animals in Monterey Bay
in 1993. We joined a group of seniors on an Elderhostel program called
the Monterey Bay Dolphin and Whale Expedition. We spent most of one
week on a 55 ft. boat cruising around the bay counting whales and
dolphins. This trip was part of the ongoing research by the Oceanic
Society Expeditions.
From Louise’s notes: “September 27th. – While we were chasing the
humpback whale we saw many birds and a group of ten sea lions. The
captain said that one did not often see these three species in the same
place.”
On September 30th. I wrote: “We went at least five miles out into the
ocean which was very calm. We saw about 1,000 common dolphins and two
Minke whales. I saw one dolphin with a calf half its size.”
We had participated in several Elderhostel programs previously. We went
to a craft school in West Virginia, to Costa Rica where we lived in the
rain forest, and to Hawaii where the ocean lulled us to sleep. But this
program put us on the water, a distinct change from our Darke County
farm.
We left home on September 23rd. and spent a few days with Glen and
Lorita Fisher who live in Monterey, CA. They drove us to our housing in
the Executive Lodge.
Except for September 29th. we walked each day to the wharf and boarded
the boat, to spend most of the day cruising the bay. Louise enjoyed
riding with the captain and helping him keep records of the latitude
and longitude, the depth and temperature of the water, and the height
of the waves. The rest of us helped the researchers spot the whales and
dolphins and estimate their numbers.
On the 29th. we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is the largest
aquarium we have ever seen and may be the largest in the world. The
water in the three story tanks flows in from the bay. Visitors see
sharks, dolphins, sea otters, and other marine animals swimming around
in the kelp forest. We spent all day there and didn’t see everything.
Louise’s favorites were the jelly fish.
We learned that Monterey Bay is the largest and deepest canyon in North
America, being 10,000 feet deep. There are 77 species of whales,
dolphins, and porpoises in the bay, and of course we didn’t see very
many of them.
We learned that whales live to be 50 to 100 years old, and are
considered to be intelligent. My favorite animal was the sea otter that
can float on its back cradling a young one in its arms.
At the end of our week Glen and Lorita showed us around Monterey, and
then helped us to the airport with a bon voyage.
Delbert Blickenstaff, M. D.
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