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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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