And here's a pair of them. Measure them and you will see they are 13m right whales. I know this area well.

There are many southern right whales visible along this stretch of coastline, including cows with calves and whales stirring up sand trails in the shallow water. Just south of my mark appears to be a rare white calf (about 5% of baby right whales are born mostly white instead of the typical black).

Peninsula Valdes is a recognized breeding area for this species.

Whoever hadn't been able to find a REAL whale on Google Earth can't have been looking very hard!!

wildslide congrats
The First GEC Member to find a Whale


I had previously looked around the Head of the Bight where i have seen with my own eyes SRW coming right up to the cliffs to suckle their calfs. I have posted placemarks around Frasier Island QLD -that look very much like Humpacks--but your finds leave no doubt.

The key was the very recent posting of high quality images for Peninsula Valdez. Previously only poor quality images were available for this particular region.... and yes, I'd been looking!

Mexican Coast
Grey Whale Pod. Mother & Calf migrating south . Another pair 100 metres SSW

Super find, danescombe. The largest is about 45' long. Location and size would suggest that these are Gray Whales , which breed and give birth in certain lagoons in Baja California, Blue Whales in this part of the world usually are found off Central California. The Santa Barbara Channel is their preferred hangout. They are up to 2+ times the length of Grays.

I added 6 more pods of whales nearby. There may well be others.

This is a Digital Globe image, and is dated February 23, 2006. This is about the time Gray Whale mothers and calfs should be heading back North . Maybe they are doing a bit of sightseeing...

Thanks for the heads up

Your addition is quite remarkable --

hello..this is really a nice find....nature can be so beautifull!!!!
very well done!!!
greetings from Belgium

"White House officials for more than a year have blocked a rule aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales by challenging the findings of government scientists, according to documents obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The documents, which were mailed to the environmental group by an unidentified National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official, illuminate a struggle that has raged between the White House and NOAA for more than a year. In February 2007, NOAA issued a final rule aimed at slowing ships traversing some East Coast waters to 10 knots or less during parts of the year to protect the right whales, but the White House has blocked the rule from taking effect.

North Atlantic right whales, whose surviving population numbers fewer than 400, are one of the most endangered species on Earth, and scientists have warned that the loss of just one more pregnant female could doom the species. Some shipping companies have opposed the NOAA proposal, saying slowing their vessels will cost the industry money.

Quote:

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The remains of a North Atlantic Right Whale after it collided with a boat propeller.

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Image and caption from Wikipedia

The documents, which House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) released yesterday, show that the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Vice President Cheney's office repeatedly questioned whether the rule was needed. Waxman, who sent a letter to the White House asking for an explanation, said the exchange "appears to be the latest instance of the White House ignoring scientists and other experts."

In one document, the Council of Economic Advisers questioned "the reliability of analysis in the published literature on which NOAA is basing its position." The council conducted its own analysis and concluded that "the relationship between [vessel] speed and [whale] injury . . . may not be as strong of a relationship as is suggested in published papers."

NOAA scientists were not swayed, writing in response, "The basic facts remain that (1) there is a direct relationship between speed and death/serious injury, and (2) at vessel speeds at or below 10 knots the probability of death/serious injury is greatly reduced."

A separate document reveals that Cheney's staff argued "that we have no evidence (i.e., hard data) that lowering the speeds of 'large ships' will actually make a difference." NOAA again fired back, writing that there was "no basis to overturn our previous conclusion that imposing a speed limit on large vessels would be beneficial to whales."

Since NOAA initially proposed the regulation, at least three right whales have died from ship strikes and two have been wounded by propellers."

From the Washington Post

More about Northern Right Whales from Wikipedia.

Learning more about Northern Right Whales.

VIDEOS of Northern Right Whales.

Also, refer to this thread by danescombe about whale protection zones.

Shocking