The Dangers Facing The Whales In Whale Watching Channel Islands

The Dangers Facing The Whales In Whale Watching Channel Islands

by Freida Michael

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 <A href="http://bellalunacharter.com">whale watching Channel Islands</A> 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 a fish allow water to pass through them continuously as the fish swims. Not having gills, a whale is unable to do this. This is why it frequently surfaces to inhale its next supply of fresh air. It breathes through its blowhole or spout. The latter is positioned on top of its massive head. This is how the trademark spray of seawater is formed when it surfaces or breaches - as it exhales through its spout, seawater is blasted upwards in a visible explosion.

Once it has exhaled or spouted, it inhales new air and then dives beneath the surface again. Whales can swim to extreme depths and also stay underwater for long periods of time. Yet it must surface again at some stage to breathe, in the same way that people cannot stay underwater indefinitely either.

The main threat to these animals has historically been human predation, or hunting. This is known technically as whaling. It used to be a very common activity in bygone times, but recently it has been prohibited by most nations. Japan is the exception to the rule, and Japanese ships annually hunt them. There has been opposition to this practice, but Japan claims that the whaling is performed in order to further research.

Whaling has always used an implement called the harpoon. A harpoon is a spear-shaped metal implement that is directed through the air at its target from the whaling vessel. In ancient times, the harpoon was held in the hand and thrown by the power of the hunter's arm. This would be done by a sailor standing in a smaller vessel positioned strategically next to the whale in the water. It cannot avoid surfacing at regular intervals, so the sailor would remain alert in the hunting boat, waiting for it to do so.

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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