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Our ACS-LA Board posts current cetacean news on our Facebook page and the most recent articles can be found on this page. Keep up-to-date by coming back often! And if you are on Facebook, follow us!
American Cetacean Society - Los Angeles Chapter (ACS/LA)
Founded in 1967, the American Cetacean Society protects whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their habitats through public education, research grants, and conservation actions.
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Commemorating 40 Years, Gray Whale Census
On Dec. 1st, 2024, Alisa Schulman-Janiger was recognized for her 40 years of dedication as Director and Coordinator of ACS-LA’s Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project by the Mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes, John Cruikshank. The ACS-LA Board was joined by Census citizen...
2025 Annual Summertime 8 hour whale watch on the Condor Express
Painted Cave, Santa Cruz Island
Photo credit: Patty Farrell
2024-2025 Gray Whale Census Summary
Gray Whale Census Team with our whiteboard displaying our final counts for this season. Clockwise, L to R: Joyce Daniels, Ben Tyrrell, Terri Bidle, Gerrie Teague Cole, Carla Krysiak, Iva Maes, Gregg Gentry, Stacey Patterson, Erlinda Cortez, Kim Hoch, Cynthia Woo, and...
2023-2024 Gray Whale Census Summary
Photo of Alisa Schulman-Janiger at our Gray Whale Census location on the bluffs behind the Palos Verdes Interpretive Center. Photo by Dave Janiger. ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, 2023-2024 Update: we documented very low gray whale counts, few...
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Video: Very Rare Humpback Whale Birth Video, Australia!! A humpback whale birth was captured this week by drone off of New South Wales, Australia: please CLICK ON THE VIDEO in the article!
LINK TO VIDEO, here too: www.facebook.com/reel/2262148311206821 ... See MoreSee Less
Drone captures rare video of 'magical moment' whale birth
www.abc.net.au
A drone operator has captured video of a humpback whale giving birth, one of only a handful of people to film the phenomenon.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Orcas ram dead sharptail sunfish in the Gulf of California: exploded, shared by all! New paper describes two encounters, detailing newly observed behaviors (2024, 2025). Fascinating!
www.independent.co.uk/news/science/orcas-giant-fish-explode-fun-b3019353.html
Link to publication:
www.frontiersin.org/journals/ethology/articles/10.3389/fetho.2026.1835536/full
Link to video:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=C5pmg7LLxCU&pp=iggCQAE%3D&fbclid=IwVERDUATPNwVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9p... ... See MoreSee Less
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Common dolphin predation in Monterey Bay today. Newborn long-beaked common dolphin calf swims for 5 hours with family of 5 female Bigg's killer whales that likely killed its mom: CA140B "Louise" and her 4 daughters! Heart-breaking outcome for the newborn dolphin; it cannot survive unless another lactating dolphin adopts and nurses it. Very rare, fascinating encounter on Monterey Bay Whale Watch: outstanding photos by naturalistCommon dolphin predation in Monterey Bay today. Newborn long-beaked common dolphin calf swims for 5 hours with family of 5 female Bigg's killer whales that likely killed its mom: CA140B "Louise" and her 4 daughters! Heart-breaking outcome for the newborn dolphin; it cannot survive unless another lactating dolphin adopts and nurses it. Very rare, fascinating encounter on Monterey Bay Whale Watch; outstanding photos by naturalist Morgan Quimby. ... See MoreSee Less
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Great news: stranded young orca is safe!! Seven-year-old Bigg's killer whale T65B2 "Corvis"/"Nettle" was spotted yesterday by @pacificwhalewatch while stranded at low tide on a beach between islands in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, then safely refloated yesterday!.Trained live stranding responders from The Whale Museum and SeaDoc Society reported that this juvenile male appeared to be in very good condition. They stood by as the tide rose; he refloated within 30 minutes, and then swam off. Whale watch vessels confirmed that T65B2 was back with his family hours later, swimming normally. Fantastic outcome! ... See MoreSee Less
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.1 CommentsComment on Facebook
A new abundance estimate of the gray whale population that migrates along the West Coast suggests their numbers have substantially increased since last year. Based on counts of southbound gray whale counts off Granite Canyon (central CA), researchers at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center estimate that the Eastern North Pacific gray whale population is 15,930-20,530 (averaging about 17,750) gray whales. Last year’s estimate was one of the lowest since counting began in the late 1960s: 11,690-13,190 (or about 12,890) gray whales.
While the apparent increase is welcome news and similar to fluctuations seen in some previous years, it raises questions about:
1. Relationship between demographics and environmental variability
2. Whale migratory cadence and timing
3. Previous assumptions made about whale behavior used to calculate the abundance estimation
Many gray whales stranded along the West Coast this spring before reaching their Arctic feeding grounds near Alaska. Some stranded whales were skinny or emaciated, suggesting they are not finding sufficient food to sustain their round-trip migration between Alaska and Mexico.
Eastern North Pacific gray whales rebounded from lows during the commercial whaling era and were removed from the list of endangered species in 1994. Their numbers climbed to an estimated peak in 2015–2016 of 24,890-29,760 (averaging about 27,000) whales. However, a spike in strandings led NOAA Fisheries to declare an unusual mortality event (UME) in 2019. The agency closed the UME in 2023 as the cause became a persistent issue and strandings began to decline.
The number of strandings in the last two years have since climbed back into the general range recorded during the UME, when many stranded whales were similarly malnourished. Since factors driving these continued strandings remain largely the same, the strandings do not yet meet the criteria for a new UME.
More details here!
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/west-coast-gray-whale-estimate-shows-increase-new-count-dete...
Even MORE details here - NOAA Technical Memoradum NMFS: "Abundance of Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales 2025/2026:
library.oarcloud.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NMFS/SWFSC/TM_NMFS_SWFSC/NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-737.pdf?... ... See MoreSee Less
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Happy World Orca Day! Time to celebrate and educate about different orca ecotypes found throughout the world. Today commemorates the release of northern resident A73 "Springer" back to the wild in British Columbia (2002); she has been resighted with her two offspring. Dr. Ingrid Visser, New Zealand cetologist (Orca Research Trust), established WORLD ORCA DAY at the World Whale Conference in 2013.
Adult female orca "Star" is the head matriarch of "The Friendly Pod": an extraordinary family of extremely curious and boat-friendly orcas who have been regularly encountered from Monterey Bay to Orange County, a few times off San Diego County, and a few times off British Columbia. They were seen just six days ago in Monterey Bay. Long may they thrive!
The 3rd edition of the California Killer Whale Project Field Guide just went live last week! This field guide features 271 Bigg's killer whales from multiple matrilines, including the CA51s: check it out here!
www.californiakillerwhaleproject.org/_files/ugd/b85107_dd516b5387b247988802edac6a969c30.pdf
More about World Orca Day:
www.worldorcaday.org/
Photo: CA51 "Star", one of photographer Alisa Schulman-Janiger's favorite Bigg's killer whales, is doing a HUGE spyhop to look DOWN into Alisa's small boat, off Palos Verdes in southern CA. ... See MoreSee Less
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