Morgan Hill Today 2014 06 Summer | Page 44

aWhale

of a story

Written
By Robin Shepherd Photography By Jim VanGogh & Bob Byrum

Every year from February through April , thousands of majestic humpback whales migrate up to 3,100 miles from the icy waters of the North Altantic to a 300-square-mile Marine Mammal Sanctuary known as Silver Bank .

Instinctively the whales are drawn to the warm , shallow underwater banks of this sanctuary . Silver Bank is the ideal safe haven where they can spend the winter mating and raising their young . It is also the only place in the world where people have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the North Atlantic Humpback whale .
This important detail caught the eye of Morgan Hill lawyer and intrepid traveler Laura Perry .
“ I ’ d wanted to visit Silver Bank for years ,” Perry said . “ When the opportunity came along this year I jumped at it . In March I flew to the Dominican Republic and set sail with one of the few tour companies permitted to operate in the Silver Bank sanctuary .”
“ In one week I learned so much about the whales ,” Perry said , “ only to realize there was so much more to learn about their social structure and habits .”
“ The mothers weigh about 40 tons while their calves emerge at about 13 feet in length , weighing about 2 tons at birth . The babies get their nourishment by positioning themselves just beneath their mothers , who then release their milk , creating a pool of milky ocean water .”
The calves consume 100 lbs of their mother ’ s milk every day for up to seven months until they are weaned , by which time they will have grown to about 26 feet and 10 tons . Why all the rush ? Because the young whales must be strong enough to make the long return trip to the humpback whales ’ natural feeding grounds in the Northern Atlantic without falling prey to marauding Orca whales along the way .
Close Encounters of the Best Kind
“ We spent hours on the water with the whales every day ,” Perry said . “ We went out in small inflatable boats and when the tour operators found a group of females with their calves , it was our opportunity to slip into the water in our wet suits with our snorkel gear . They taught us how to enter the water quietly and approach the whales as a group , linking arms and staying on the surface of the water at a close but safe distance .”
“ The humpback whales were very tolerant of our presence
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