Whale watches surface

In the whale-watching community, January marks the peak of the spectator’s season, when the waters off the Orange Coast become prevalent with the passing-through of the largest mammals on the planet.

Well, for the next three months the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum brings an extensive overview of the history of these magnificent creatures, some of their prehistoric ancestors, and the history of whaling.

The four-part program includes multimedia and interactive elements that best examines the diversity of whales and other local marine mammals, said Curt Abdouch, the museum’s educational consultant.

“We’re taking a look at what’s in the water outside our front doors,” Abdouch said.

That’s just what the first part of the program explores, the animals, be it seals, sea lions, whales or dolphins, that visit the waters of Newport Beach on a regular basis.

Also, the exhibit offers information about new visitors to the shores and explains how environmental changes are affecting those marine animals.

Another part of the presentation deals with the origins of whales and their ancestors. Their distant ancestors probably were land-based amphibians that developed special adaptations and habits that allowed them to be almost completely marine, Abdouch said.

Some of their findings along the coast of Newport Beach have been pretty strange to say the least.

The Desmostylus, a hippo-like animal complete with four tusks and columns of cylindrical teeth was believed to be both land- and water-based.

“If you imagine several rolls of pennies in your fist, stacked vertically,” that’s similar to the dental set-up of this large animal.

Also, “it’s so strange we don’t even know what it ate — was it a plant eater, scavenger, or a meat eater? With the tooth arrangement it’s anyone guess.”

A third portion of the exhibit covers the history of the whaling industry along the California coast. During the 1800s, hunters harpooned the whale often near land, which was called shore/lagoon whaling. That was their strategy because the much-sought-after California gray whales migrated close to shore.

It was an enormous industry from Northern California all the way to northern Mexico, about 20 whaling industries covered the waters near to land, Abdouch said.

And, finally, the presentation ends with a conservation celebration where “we look at the current status of certain populations,” Abdouch said.

“We’re beginning to see some trouble developing with mainly the Grays, they are malnourished and showing bones through their skin and blubber,” Abdouch said. “That‘s not a good sign.”

Abdouch believes the cause is climate changes in the Arctic region where the animals these whales eat are becoming less prevalent.

“And now we’re finding more blue whales that are somewhat stressed because of similar food shortages,” he added.

The entire presentation takes one hour and has been scheduled to coincide with whale-watching tours running each day from Newport Landing and Davey’s Locker on the Balboa Peninsula.

“We offer our program three times a day and those times are synchronized with when the tours leave or come back,” Abdouch said. “So if someone likes the program they can come back and do a tour or go out on a boat and join us in the afternoon.”

Upward of 10,000 people whale watch during the season, which runs from January through April.

The exhibit will also be made available to schools, by appointment, during the week.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Whales and Marine Mammals of the Pacific

WHO: Newport Harbor Nautical Museum

WHEN: 11 a.m. 12:30 and 3 p.m. Sat. and Sun.

COST: $5

CALL: (949) 675-8915 or visit www.nhnm.org. To reach the Newport Landing: (949) 675-0550 or Davey’s Locker call: (949) 673-1434

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].