Sailboat sinks after encounter with whales

There have been several reports of sailboats being rammed and sunk by whales.  Here's the latest.  These are certainly scary-sounding events, like something out of the novel "Moby Dick." Let's try to figure out what's really going on.

 Sinking near Baja California, October 28, 2009

"U.S. Coast Guard air crews came to the rescue Wednesday of five people drifting in a lifeboat in Mexican waters after the sailboat they had been in capsized and sank several hundred miles south of Point Loma, authorities reported."  "Crew members said it was a whale ramming the boat's rudder -- and not the high winds at sea --that caused the boat to capsize.  The captain of the boat, Eugenie Russell, said, 'They were big ... I would say a good 50 feet ... I remember seeing 7 or 8 of them.'"More.

The whales involved may have been gray whales.  At this time of year, they migrate down the coast from Alaska to lagoons on the west coast of Baja California, where they give birth to their calves.   They arrive in the lagoons mid-December, and stay until April.   During that time, they become a prime tourist attraction.  Guides take 20-foot boats with about ten tourists per boat out to see the whales.

This winter, I had the opportunity to take one of these tours in the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon.  The whales are "friendly" and curious--some of them coming right up to the boat and even touching it.  The guides say they like to scratch their backs on the boats--but on our trip, any whale-to-boat contact, if any, was probably accidental.  But the whales do come so close you can reach out to touch them, and we did.

Friendly gray whale approaches tour boat in a Mexican lagoon.

  

A gray whale calf raises his head from the water to look at people.

I saw a video posted on YouTube, probably taken during one of these tours, where the video claims the whale was attacking the boat.  This is pure baloney--the video showed only friendly behavior, similar to what I saw from my boat--and, the video did not show any contact with the boat.  So, there's hype around, and you can't believe everything you hear.

From the news story above, we learn the whale "rammed" the rudder.  Rudders are relatively easy to damage.  Since the boat was sailing in strong winds (30 kts), any loss of control could have caused the boat to capsize, and possibly to sink.  So this doesn't sound like a crazed, aggressive attack on the sailboat.   It could have been just an accidental collision.

Probably it was not a case of the boat coming between a mother and her calf, because it was unlikely that gray whales would have calves at this time and at this offshore location.

 Sinking near Hawaii, July 25, 2006

 A sailboat 450 miles north of the island of Hawaii sank after an encounter with a whale.  "The crew of the Mureadrittas XL believe that they were rammed by a female whale, after they had inadvertently got between mother and calf." More.

The whale may have been a humpback whale.  This species breeds around Hawaii, then migrates to the coast of Alaska with their calves for a summer of feeding.

Incident near Santa Barbara, Feb. 2, 2006

 "A large gray whale charged a 27-foot boat on a sightseeing cruise off Santa Barbara, totaling the vessel and sending one of one of its passengers to the hospital. The Bayliner was cruising off Leadbetter Beach Wednesday evening when the whale came up from under its right bow, belly-flopped onto the ship, and crushed its cabin."

"Gormley says the whale emerged from the water again and ran its tail along the boat's flank, knocking over Bob Thornburgh and tearing down the vessel's railing."

"The whale then approached the boat a third time. Gormley estimates the animal as being about 30 feet long."

"Bob Thornburgh was briefly treated for cracked ribs at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. His wife says it seemed like the whale had consciously collided with the boat."

"But Wayne Perryman, a researcher with the National Marine Fisheries Service in San Diego, says the boaters probably encountered a gray whale, which are common in waters off southern California this time of year, and rarely show aggressive behavior."  Source.

Beware of inaccurate or exaggerated reporting.  The photo posted with this article was the wrong species--a humpback.  The headline of this article claims "Whale attacks...."   The first line of the report claims "the whale charged...."

There is too little information here to speculate about what might have caused the incident, or even if it was an "attack."  It might have involved a mother protecting her calf, though usually they don't migrate north till a bit later.    Whales do leap out of the water--I saw gray whales breaching off Baja California. 

Given the huge number of auto-deer collisions on US roads each year, you can easily expect some boat-whale collisions along the gray whale's coastal migration route.  If you hit a deer on the highway, is it fair to say you were "attacked" by the deer?   In collisions with whales, the action is underwater--so people jump to conclusions.

Here's a possible scenario other than attack:  A fast approaching speedboat might alarm the whale, which jumps clear of the water to see what's making all the noise.  By the time the whale is falling back, the boat speeds under it.  Next, the damaged boat stops near the whale and looks menacing to the whale.  The whale imagines he has been attacked, and tries to defend himself, explaining the further contact between boat and whale.
Other accounts of collisions or attacks
Whale "attacked" Italian boat in 1922
Whaling ships "stove by whales" in the 1800s

Historical accounts--hunting gray whales in Baja

"These magnificent, highly intelligent creatures were not always so friendly.  In the mid-nineteenth century American whalers discovered the lagoon and mercilessly hunted them to the point of extinction.  The cornered, nursing mothers turned on their tormentors with such violence that the whalers called them 'devilfish.'"  The whales "tried to avoid the boats, but when that was impossible they turned around and attacked, smashing boats, breaking bones and throwing the sailors into the shark-infested waters."Source.

Captain Scammon wrote: "the casualties from coast-whaling are nothing to be compared with the accidents that have been experienced by those engaged in taking the females in the lagoons.  Hardly a day passes but there is upsetting or staving of boats, the crews receiving bruises, cuts, and in many instances, having limbs broken; and repeated accidents have happened in which men have been instantly killed, or received mortal injury."

Summary

• There's a lot of hype about whale "attacks."  Quite likely, many incidents are accidents or have less aggressive interpretations.
• Because they are large, collisions with whales can result in serious damage.  This adds to the hype.
• Whale collisions are just one example of many kinds of dangerous accidents involving animals, from flaming squirrels to moose on the highway. 
• Given the long history of human attacks on whales, and the fact that some of those whales may still be alive, it's amazing that whales aren't more aggressive.  They seem to be highly intelligent, playful, and peaceful creatures.
• Any talk of aggressive behavior should be balanced with the many accounts of whales helping or even saving humans. 

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*  There is a remarkable video showing a group of killer whales in the Antarctic teaming up to create a wave to wash a seal off an ice flow.  It shows leadership by one whale, planning, and close coordination.  According to a recent article in Science magazine, different populations of killer whales specialize in different kinds of prey, using different techniques.  If the Terra Nova story is an illustration of the same kind of technique to get seals of floes, then this kind of behavior goes back a hundred years.

If you like frogs...

My son Chris, making the acquaintance of a frog.

If you like frogs, you'll love David Robertson's blog, with his wonderful photos.

Why a three-legged bear walks upright

Recently a video of a bear walking upright has been popular on You Tube, with over 200,000 views.  The bear was missing one front leg--she apparently found it easier to walk on her two hind legs, than to hobble about on three. 

Earlier, I reported on Faith, the dog born without front legs.  Faith was taught to walk on her hind legs, but only with lots of training.  So how was a wild black bear able to teach herself to walk on hind legs, while a dog required so much training?  Bears and dogs are related, according to biologists, so you might expect similar behavior.

Part of the explanation for Faith's slow progress in learning to walk--is that, lacking front legs from birth, she couldn't learn to walk as a puppy, even on four legs. But the bear with three legs probably learned to walk normally on four legs as a cub.

Generalists VS specialists

The habits of bears and dogs give more insight.  Bears are generalists, in diet and behavior, while dogs are specialists.  Bears eat almost anything, from berries to ants to fish.  Dogs, the descendants of wolves, are much more restricted to eating meat.  Being specialists, their anatomy isn't so easily adapted to a variety of tasks.

Bears are much more flexible, in both behavior and gait.  They can use their big clumsy-looking paws for delicate tasks.  A black bear named "Yellow-Yellow" in the Adirondack Mountains recently learned to open the bearproof containers that hikers use for storing food. 

Dogs, in contrast, don't do much with their paws except run, dig, or hold a bone.

In the wild, bears occasionally rear up on their hind legs.  They may do this to appear more frightening, to see over obstacles, or to reach food.  Grizzly bears rear up to reach for cones of the pinyon pine.  Since occasional standing on two legs is part of their normal behavior, it's understandable that a three-legged bear could easily discover the benefits of walking for longer distances.

Efficiency matters

Wild chimpanzees also walk occasionally on their hind legs, especially when carrying food in their hands.  But in comparison to humans, walking on hind legs is very inefficient for chimps.   It takes far more energy for chimps to walk than it does for humans.  They have short legs and a bent-over posture.

I doubt if the efficiency of walking on two legs has been measured for bears--but it must be rather inefficient, because their hind legs are so short.  Nevertheless, if you're a bear with only three legs--two legs may beat three, especially over even ground.

But don't expect bears with four legs to take up strolling anytime soon.  They wouldn't get many miles to the calorie.

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Photo of wild grizzly opening a refrigerator.

How to rodent-proof your home

I've reported about keeping rodents out of your car--and the same methods will keep them out of your house.  In fact, if your garage is a home to rodents, your car is at risk, too.

In your home, they are just a nuisance (and sometimes a health hazard).  But in your car--you're talking about some serious repair bills--rodents cost one man over $25,000.

So here's a video with some good advice--I've checked it out.

In short, the video recommends:

• Closing all entry points to the house that are 1/4" or larger, especially where pipes enter.
• Controlling all food sources in your house, especially pet food.

To this I would add:  The Victor snap traps work really well for mice.  Bait them with cheese or peanut butter, and place them on the floor along walls.

This website has some sound advice and products for getting rid of mice.

Rotifers try "abstinence only"--for 30 million years

Rotifers live in temporary pools of water, like your bird bath or rain garden.

Rotifers are tiny multicellular animals that live in pools of water. For one kind of rotifer, no males have ever been found.

Photos with permission by Aydın Örstan.

Talk about a dry spell!

One kind of rotifer, the Bdelloid rotifers, haven't had sex for 30 million years. For three centuries since their discovery, no one has seen any eggs or male rotifers. Just females. Ouch!

This had scientists scratching their heads, since theory argues that sex has many advantages. It's supposed to help rabbits keep one step ahead of the foxes, in the evolutionary arms race. Giving up sex is thought to be an evolutionary dead end--less than 1% of animal species reproduce without sex.

So what gives with the rotifers? How have they turned "no sex" into a good deal?

Rotifers do have one mortal enemy--it's a tiny fungus. If rotifers ingest fungal spores, the spores catch in their throats, sprout, and digest the rotifer from the inside out. If spores of the fungus are present in your bird bath, it won't be long before all the rotifers are dead.

And rotifers can't use sex to jazz up their biological defenses against the fungus. Now scientists at Cornell have discovered that the rotifers escape from the deadly fungus--by a kind of "hide and seek" strategy.

Dry up and blow away

It turns out that rotifers are one of the few kinds of animal that can survive completely drying out--and they can do this at any stage in their life cycle. When your rain garden dries up, the rotifers turn to dust, and are blown about from place to place. They can survive for as long as 9 years as dust. Then, add a drop of water, or a film of moisture on some moss, and they come back to life within an hour!

The fungus can also survive drying, but not for so long. And they don't blow about so readily. So when the rotifer lands in another damp spot, the chances are--there won't be any fungus there. The rotifers take a long drink, plump up, and go about their business, filtering tiny particles of food out of the water. But whatever their business is, it isn't... sex.

Reported in Science, 29 January 2010, p. 574-6

More on rotifers--Aydın Örstan's wonderful blog on invertebrate animals.

Wikipedia article.

Orangutan picks a lock, deceives his keepers

An orangutan (not the one of the story). Photo by Glintle.

Radiolab (1/25/10) reports how an orangutan at a zoo in Nebraska repeatedly used a curved piece of metal to pry open a service door and escape, to spend his time climbing in tall trees outside his exhibit.  The piece of metal was curved so he could hide it like a denture in his mouth.  He escaped only when he couldn't be observed by the keepers. 

Not only does figuring out how the door worked show a high degree of intelligence--but the deception also shows his ability to understand the minds of his keepers.

Dogs are also capable of deception and counting.

Comment to the above story from Marc McAllister

"When I was a teen I rode my bike to the St Louis zoo. There the animals were in deep pits and you observed them from above behind a low concrete wall. The Orangutan had picked a sympathetic human and was crouching down looking pitiful and reaching up toward this man who finally reached down toward him. In an instant the ape had leaped up surprisingly high, grabbed the man's arm, climbed him and was over the wall and making his escape. He had totally played the guy. The zookeeper said he had used this trick repeatedly and they were redesigning the cage. Smart creatures that totally understand human nature."

The carp are coming!

"If you haven't yet seen the YouTube videos of Asian carp flinging themselves out of the water, head-butting anglers and hurling their hideous, slimy selves at passing motorboats, you really ought to check them out. "

Read more here.