Whale watching is an important activity in marine tourism. There are various places on earth where this activity is possible. It tends to be seasonal, so you should research where and when to do this. The Channel Islands, Oxnard CA, are one location, and whale watching Channel Islands is a recommended excursion if you are in the vicinity at the right time of the year.
Whales are the largest mammals on earth. It might sound strange that they are mammals, since they live in the sea, but they are. They are not cold-blooded, and they also breathe using lungs, unlike ordinary fish, which use gills.
The gills of fish operate according to the mechanism of water passing through them as the fish moves through the water. Whales cannot rely on this mechanism because they do not have gills. Instead, they have a spout or blowhole on top of their heads. They need to surface constantly to allow used air in their lungs to pass out through the blowhole and new air to enter there. When they surface or breach, they exhale, causing the legendary spray or spout of disrupted seawater above them.
Once exhalation or spouting has taken place, the new air is inhaled. The animal can then breathe again, and it dives below the surface. It can swim at very low depths and can also stay under the surface for exceptionally long periods of time. It must, however, breach at some time to breathe, just as people also cannot stay submerged after the oxygen in their lungs has been depleted.
The key threat to whale populations in the world has always been hunting by human seafarers. The traditional name of this practice is whaling. It was a more frequent activity in previous centuries but nowadays it is illegal almost everywhere. Japan still asserts that their annual hunting expedition is in the interests of scientific research, even though it is vehemently opposed by observers. Japan remains the most notable exception to the modern attitude of prohibition, though.
The traditional weapon used to hunt is the metal harpoon. The harpoon resembles a spear or javelin, and it is thrown or projected at the animal from the hunting ship or boat. In more primitive times, a smaller vessel or rowing boat was used to get close to the whale, and the sailor entrusted with the harpoon would then physically throw it at the whale. Sailors in the boat would wait expectantly for the whale to breach, which it would obviously have to do every so often.
Modern harpoons would sometimes have a grenade attached to them. The harpoon would penetrate into the animal and the grenade would then explode deep inside the its body, inflicting serious internal injuries or killing it in this way. Other harpoons used in the modern era were electrified, and would electrocute it in the sea. These harpoons were launched mechanically from the ship at high speed.
In recent times, whale populations have been decimated by whaling. They reproduce only very slowly and some species gestate for up to two years. Although Japan obstinately continues to hunt a set number of animals every year, the modern trend is to outlaw this activity. So, if you are able to watch them breaching, it can be a rewarding pastime and one which you should try to participate in.
Whales are the largest mammals on earth. It might sound strange that they are mammals, since they live in the sea, but they are. They are not cold-blooded, and they also breathe using lungs, unlike ordinary fish, which use gills.
The gills of fish operate according to the mechanism of water passing through them as the fish moves through the water. Whales cannot rely on this mechanism because they do not have gills. Instead, they have a spout or blowhole on top of their heads. They need to surface constantly to allow used air in their lungs to pass out through the blowhole and new air to enter there. When they surface or breach, they exhale, causing the legendary spray or spout of disrupted seawater above them.
Once exhalation or spouting has taken place, the new air is inhaled. The animal can then breathe again, and it dives below the surface. It can swim at very low depths and can also stay under the surface for exceptionally long periods of time. It must, however, breach at some time to breathe, just as people also cannot stay submerged after the oxygen in their lungs has been depleted.
The key threat to whale populations in the world has always been hunting by human seafarers. The traditional name of this practice is whaling. It was a more frequent activity in previous centuries but nowadays it is illegal almost everywhere. Japan still asserts that their annual hunting expedition is in the interests of scientific research, even though it is vehemently opposed by observers. Japan remains the most notable exception to the modern attitude of prohibition, though.
The traditional weapon used to hunt is the metal harpoon. The harpoon resembles a spear or javelin, and it is thrown or projected at the animal from the hunting ship or boat. In more primitive times, a smaller vessel or rowing boat was used to get close to the whale, and the sailor entrusted with the harpoon would then physically throw it at the whale. Sailors in the boat would wait expectantly for the whale to breach, which it would obviously have to do every so often.
Modern harpoons would sometimes have a grenade attached to them. The harpoon would penetrate into the animal and the grenade would then explode deep inside the its body, inflicting serious internal injuries or killing it in this way. Other harpoons used in the modern era were electrified, and would electrocute it in the sea. These harpoons were launched mechanically from the ship at high speed.
In recent times, whale populations have been decimated by whaling. They reproduce only very slowly and some species gestate for up to two years. Although Japan obstinately continues to hunt a set number of animals every year, the modern trend is to outlaw this activity. So, if you are able to watch them breaching, it can be a rewarding pastime and one which you should try to participate in.
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