For the full calendar of events, please visit http://www.sfiaf.org/calendar_2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
San Francisco International Arts Festival: May 21 through June 7
For the full calendar of events, please visit http://www.sfiaf.org/calendar_2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Billionaires Row Mansion ‘Only’ Fetches $31M
The sale of the Billionaires Row mansion at 2701 Broadway has just closed escrow with a contract price of $31 million, a whopping $8 million under asking but still $4 million more than celebrity chef Roxanne Klein and her entrepreneur/environmentalist husband Michael Klein (who once toured with The Dead) paid for the 16,000-square-foot home in early 2012.
Designed by James Miller and built for a lumber magnate in 1910, an overhaul of the five-level Pacific Heights pad started in the late 1990s with Moller Willrich Architects leading the way.
And once again, the lower-level basketball court in which a former owner would throw school dances wasn’t an original feature of the home (and resident shooters better not have much arc).
At $31 million, 2701 Broadway is now the third most expensive home in San Francisco, slotted behind 2840 Broadway at $33 million and 2950 Broadway which fetched $35 million in 2013.
Article and images sourced from http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2015/05/pac-heights-mansion-only-fetches-31m.html
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Petchitecture 2015: Save the Date! Thursday June 11
 |
| Photo courtesy Mark Rogers Photography |
Join us on June 11th for a
gala evening unlike any other in San Francisco. This year's event will
include a gallery of one-of-a-kind pet habitats created by our
Petchitects (architects from the local community); silent and live
auctions; delicious, locally sourced food and beverage; entertaniment
by The TurnAround; and an opportunity to learn more about and contribute to a fantastic cause!
We are also thrilled that long-time client Felicia Elizondo will be joining us as our honored guest speaker this year. Read more about Felicia and her history with PAWS here.
Proceeds from Petchitecture 2015 will fund PAWS services for low-income San Franciscans and their pets.
Proceeds from Petchitecture 2015 will fund PAWS services for low-income San Franciscans and their pets.
Tickets:
Tickets are available now
Unable to attend the event? You can still make a donation here.
GOLD BONE
Ms. Diane Wilsey
SILVER BONE
Become a 2015 Sponsor!
Email Sarah at scramer@pawssf.org for information*
Fabulous Feline Table Hosts:
A Well Adjusted Pet
Tom Johnson and Bruce Genaro
Best Friends Table Hosts:
Parker's Pals
Big Bark Table Hosts:
Martha Ehrenfeld and Carla McKay
Finnegan's Friends
A Well Adjusted Pet
Tom Johnson and Bruce Genaro
Best Friends Table Hosts:
Parker's Pals
Big Bark Table Hosts:
Martha Ehrenfeld and Carla McKay
Finnegan's Friends
Canine Companion Table Hosts:
Darla and Richard Bastoni
Camp K9 of Marin
Joel Luebkeman and Mel Durana
Brian Probst and Henry Ostendorf
Darla and Richard Bastoni
Camp K9 of Marin
Joel Luebkeman and Mel Durana
Brian Probst and Henry Ostendorf
Become a 2015 Host!
Email Sarah at scramer@pawssf.org for information*
WITH 
*Become a 2015 Petchitect! Email Sarah at scramer@pawssf.org for information*
*Become a 2015 Media Sponsor! Email Sarah at scramer@pawssf.org for information*
Display and Activity Booths
We're excited to have some wonderful vendors providing
display and activity booths at this year's event. Plan to visit one (or
many) of them while you sip a cocktail between bidding on silent
auction items! This year's display and activity booths include:
The Pooch Coach
Happy Hounds Massage
Lotus Veterinary House Calls
PetCube
Learn more about the vendors and their booths here.
Happy Hounds Massage
Lotus Veterinary House Calls
PetCube
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Wealthy Americans Propel Vacation Home Sales to New High
One in five U.S. properties sold in 2014 was a vacation home, the result of a thriving economy and strong consumer confidence.
The National Association of Realtors’ 2015 Investment and Vacation Home Survey says that vacation home sales accounted for 21 percent of all U.S. transactions in 2014. Vacation home sales surged 57.4 percent from 2013 to reach 1.13 million units — the most since the organization began conducting the poll 12 years ago.
In a statement accompanying the survey, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed the sizable uptick to both economic and home price growth.
“Affluent households have greatly benefited from strong growth in the stock market in recent years, and the steady rise in home prices has likely given them reassurance that real estate remains an attractive long-term investment,” he said.
NAR’s survey found that vacation homebuyers were taking home bigger paychecks, with the median household income at $94,380 in 2014, a year-over-year gain of 10.2 percent. These buyers are also overwhelmingly optimistic about the country’s housing recovery, with 85 percent saying that now is a good time to purchase real estate.
While sales volume was up big, the median sales price for vacation homes declined to $150,000, down 11.1 percent from 2013. According to Yun, the drop in prices is the result of a trio of factors.
First, the number of vacation homebuyers who purchased a condo or a townhouse rose from a year ago, although most — 54 percent — bought single-family homes. Additionally, distressed properties accounted for a greater share of vacation home sales in 2014 than they did in the previous year. Finally, nearly half of all vacation homes sold last year were located in the South, where prices tend to be lower than in other parts of the country.
Regardless of property type or geography, vacation buyers prefer coastal areas, with 40 percent purchasing a home at the beach. The survey says that 19 percent of vacation homebuyers purchased properties in the country while 17 percent bought homes in mountain regions.
(Photo: Flickr/Harvey Barrison)
Article and image sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/wealthy-americans-propel-vacation-home-sales-new-high/
The National Association of Realtors’ 2015 Investment and Vacation Home Survey says that vacation home sales accounted for 21 percent of all U.S. transactions in 2014. Vacation home sales surged 57.4 percent from 2013 to reach 1.13 million units — the most since the organization began conducting the poll 12 years ago.
In a statement accompanying the survey, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed the sizable uptick to both economic and home price growth.
“Affluent households have greatly benefited from strong growth in the stock market in recent years, and the steady rise in home prices has likely given them reassurance that real estate remains an attractive long-term investment,” he said.
NAR’s survey found that vacation homebuyers were taking home bigger paychecks, with the median household income at $94,380 in 2014, a year-over-year gain of 10.2 percent. These buyers are also overwhelmingly optimistic about the country’s housing recovery, with 85 percent saying that now is a good time to purchase real estate.
While sales volume was up big, the median sales price for vacation homes declined to $150,000, down 11.1 percent from 2013. According to Yun, the drop in prices is the result of a trio of factors.
First, the number of vacation homebuyers who purchased a condo or a townhouse rose from a year ago, although most — 54 percent — bought single-family homes. Additionally, distressed properties accounted for a greater share of vacation home sales in 2014 than they did in the previous year. Finally, nearly half of all vacation homes sold last year were located in the South, where prices tend to be lower than in other parts of the country.
Regardless of property type or geography, vacation buyers prefer coastal areas, with 40 percent purchasing a home at the beach. The survey says that 19 percent of vacation homebuyers purchased properties in the country while 17 percent bought homes in mountain regions.
(Photo: Flickr/Harvey Barrison)
Article and image sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/wealthy-americans-propel-vacation-home-sales-new-high/
Monday, May 25, 2015
Top 100 chefs demonstrate their restaurants' star dishes
Recipe videos
Top 100 chefs demonstrate their restaurants' star dishes
Videos brought to you by
. Sign up FREE and get access to thousands of high-quality cooking videos here. Upgrade today and get your first month Grokker Premium for just $1 by entering the code SF100 at upgrade.
Friday, May 22, 2015
2015 marks 75 years since San Francisco Botanical Garden opened to the public as a place of beauty, learning and inspiration. To honor this anniversary, the SFBG has designed a day just for you.
An Overview of the Day
Begin by immersing yourself in the beauty of this urban sanctuary with a meditative walking tour, a bird walk or yoga class. Kids of all ages can enjoy a nature sing-a-long in the morning and explore the Garden through an array of activities all day long.
In the Great Meadow, enjoy family-friendly performances that reflect the Garden's global collections, specifically its South African, Temperate Asian and Cloud Forests. Then travel the world within our 55 acres with docent-led tours, and roving docents who are available to answer questions all day long, so don't be shy!
Visit the Eastern end of the Great Meadow and the Library for more activities for adults and children. Indulge in multicultural cuisines at Off the Grid food trucks, and enjoy local beer, wine and specialty cocktails around the Fountain Plaza. Visit the Garden Bookstore and Plant Arbor, as well as our Community Partners for an interesting array of Garden-related products, services and demonstrations – more information on Community Partner activities coming soon! Complete your day with some Nature Readings in the Redwood Grove or a calming Tea Ritual in the Fragrance Garden.
Join the Garden Community
In addition to joining us at Community Day, here are lots of ways to get involved with the garden year-round.
Become a member or donor and support the Garden's botanical collections, outreach activities and educational programs.
Volunteer, gain new skills and make friends. Guide visitors and school children, staff special events, help maintain the gardens, assist in the Bookstore, Plant Arbor, Library and offices.
Participate in an array of classes, workshops, events and walksdesigned for exploration into the world of plants.
Take the Garden home with a stop at the Garden Bookstore and Plant Arbor or shop at monthly plant sales for an outstanding selection of Bay Area-friendly plants and seasonal specialties seldom found in commercial nurseries.
Sign up for the monthly e-newsletter and follow the Garden on social media to get the latest on classes, events, plant sales, art shows and what's in bloom.
Transportation & Parking
In effort to make Community Day as environmentally responsible an event as possible and deal with limited parking resources in and around the Garden, we encourage all guests to consider walking, biking, or utilizing public transportation or ride sharing services.
Stay tuned for bike valet and ride sharing promo code details to come...
The Golden Gate Park Shuttle will be running this day, as well.
Article and images sourced from http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/75/community-day.html
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Pacific Union’s April 2015 Real Estate Update
Demand for Northern California real estate remained heavy in April,
with the median home sales price reaching yearly highs in the majority
of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions. And buyers weren’t wasting any
time, particularly in Contra Costa County, the East Bay, Silicon Valley,
and the Mid-Peninsula, where homes sold in three weeks or less.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in April.
Homes sold in an average of 58 days, 12 days longer than in March. Buyers got a bit of a break, with the average property selling for about 96 percent of asking price.
Defining Marin County: Our real estate markets in Marin County include the cities of Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, and Tiburon. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
Homes left the market in 96 days, five days longer than in March, while the MSI increased modestly to 3.1.
Defining Napa County: Our real estate markets in Napa County include the cities of American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Napa, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in Napa County.
SAN FRANCISCO – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The median sales price for single-family homes in San Francisco
has risen every month thus far in 2015 and hit $1,350,500 in April.
Overbids remained commonplace, with the average buyer paying about 13
percent above asking price to get the job done.
Homes sold in an average of 26 days, nearly identical to March’s pace, while the MSI dropped to 1.2.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
The median condominium price in San Francisco was down month over
month in April, but at $1,097,500, it is up almost 20 percent from one
year ago. Sellers enjoyed premiums of about 8 percent, in line with what
we saw last spring.
At 1.1, the MSI was unchanged from the previous month. San Francisco condominiums took an average of 33 days to sell, two days longer than in March.
The MSI dipped to 1.2, matching its one-year low. Homes left the market in a brisk 19 days, and the average buyer paid a 6.5 percent premium.
Defining Silicon Valley: Our real estate markets in the Silicon Valley region include the cities and towns of Atherton, Los Altos (excluding county area), Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park (excluding east of U.S. 101), Palo Alto, Portola Valley, and Woodside. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
Mid-Peninsula Subregion
As in neighboring Silicon Valley, homes didn’t linger on the market very long in the Mid-Peninsula, with properties selling in an average of 21 days. The MSI improved slightly from March, but at 1.0, the region’s housing supply remains low.
The median sales price climbed to $1,688,000 with the average buyer paying 7.5 percent more than original price to successfully close a transaction.
Defining the Mid-Peninsula: Our real estate markets in the Mid-Peninsula subregion include the cities of Burlingame (excluding Ingold Millsdale Industrial Center), Hillsborough, and San Mateo (excluding the North Shoreview/Dore Cavanaugh area). Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
Homes left the market in 55 days, more than a month faster than earlier in the year, and the MSI dropped to 1.6.
Defining Sonoma County: Our real estate markets in Sonoma County include the cities of Cotati, Healdsburg, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Windsor. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.
Buyers took an average of 66 days to close a deal, two days longer than they did in March. The MSI in Sonoma Valley has been declining every month so far in 2015 and fell to 2.1 in April.
Defining Sonoma Valley: Our real estate markets in Sonoma Valley include the cities of Glen Ellen, Kenwood, and Sonoma. Sales data in the adjoining chart refers to all residential properties – including single-family homes, condominiums, and farms and ranches – in these communities.
Homes left the market in an average of 103 days, in line with the pace of sales one year ago. Sellers got an average of 92 percent of the asking price, a bit less than they did in March.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
Condominiums in the region sold in an average of 100 days, with the average seller receiving about 94 percent of the asking price – unchanged from the preceding month.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes condominiums in these communities.
Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in April.
MARIN COUNTY
At 1.2, the MSI in Marin County reached a one-year low in April. Prices headed in the other direction, with the median sales price climbing to $1,203,625.Homes sold in an average of 58 days, 12 days longer than in March. Buyers got a bit of a break, with the average property selling for about 96 percent of asking price.
Defining Marin County: Our real estate markets in Marin County include the cities of Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, and Tiburon. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
NAPA COUNTY
April’s median sales price in Napa County ratcheted up to $635,000, a year-over-year gain of 24.5 percent. Sellers banked about 96 percent of the original price, similar to what we observed last spring and early summer.Homes left the market in 96 days, five days longer than in March, while the MSI increased modestly to 3.1.
Defining Napa County: Our real estate markets in Napa County include the cities of American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Napa, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in Napa County.
SAN FRANCISCO – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The median sales price for single-family homes in San Francisco
has risen every month thus far in 2015 and hit $1,350,500 in April.
Overbids remained commonplace, with the average buyer paying about 13
percent above asking price to get the job done.Homes sold in an average of 26 days, nearly identical to March’s pace, while the MSI dropped to 1.2.
SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS
The median condominium price in San Francisco was down month over
month in April, but at $1,097,500, it is up almost 20 percent from one
year ago. Sellers enjoyed premiums of about 8 percent, in line with what
we saw last spring.At 1.1, the MSI was unchanged from the previous month. San Francisco condominiums took an average of 33 days to sell, two days longer than in March.
SILICON VALLEY
Silicon Valley was one of the few Pacific Union regions where home prices were not at their yearly peaks in April. But with the median sales price at $2,665,000, it remains the most expensive of our Northern California regions in which to purchase a home.The MSI dipped to 1.2, matching its one-year low. Homes left the market in a brisk 19 days, and the average buyer paid a 6.5 percent premium.
Defining Silicon Valley: Our real estate markets in the Silicon Valley region include the cities and towns of Atherton, Los Altos (excluding county area), Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park (excluding east of U.S. 101), Palo Alto, Portola Valley, and Woodside. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
Mid-Peninsula Subregion
As in neighboring Silicon Valley, homes didn’t linger on the market very long in the Mid-Peninsula, with properties selling in an average of 21 days. The MSI improved slightly from March, but at 1.0, the region’s housing supply remains low.
The median sales price climbed to $1,688,000 with the average buyer paying 7.5 percent more than original price to successfully close a transaction.
Defining the Mid-Peninsula: Our real estate markets in the Mid-Peninsula subregion include the cities of Burlingame (excluding Ingold Millsdale Industrial Center), Hillsborough, and San Mateo (excluding the North Shoreview/Dore Cavanaugh area). Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.
SONOMA COUNTY
The median sales price in Sonoma County has been gaining steam every month in 2015 and closed out April at $541,000. The average seller took home almost 100 percent of the original price, the most in the past year.Homes left the market in 55 days, more than a month faster than earlier in the year, and the MSI dropped to 1.6.
Defining Sonoma County: Our real estate markets in Sonoma County include the cities of Cotati, Healdsburg, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Windsor. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.
SONOMA VALLEY
Sonoma Valley’s median sales price rocketed up to $757,500 in April, a month-over-month gain of 32 percent. Sellers received an average of 0.5 percent above the original price, the first time in the past year they’ve enjoyed any sort of premium.Buyers took an average of 66 days to close a deal, two days longer than they did in March. The MSI in Sonoma Valley has been declining every month so far in 2015 and fell to 2.1 in April.
Defining Sonoma Valley: Our real estate markets in Sonoma Valley include the cities of Glen Ellen, Kenwood, and Sonoma. Sales data in the adjoining chart refers to all residential properties – including single-family homes, condominiums, and farms and ranches – in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The median sales price for a single-family home in Pacific Union’s Lake Tahoe/Truckee region dropped to $542,500, not terribly different from what we saw in April 2014. The MSI expanded to 6.4, ensuring that homebuyers in the region have plenty of properties from which to choose.Homes left the market in an average of 103 days, in line with the pace of sales one year ago. Sellers got an average of 92 percent of the asking price, a bit less than they did in March.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes single-family homes in these communities.
LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS
The median condominium price also dropped in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region from the previous month to finish April at $281,000. At 17.9, the MSI nearly doubled from March to reach a yearly high.Condominiums in the region sold in an average of 100 days, with the average seller receiving about 94 percent of the asking price – unchanged from the preceding month.
Defining Tahoe/Truckee: Our real estate markets in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region include the communities of Alpine Meadows, Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lahontan, Martis Valley, North Shore Lake Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Tahoe Donner, Truckee, and the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes condominiums in these communities.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Whales make comeback off Sonoma Coast
This year’s parade of gray whales
along the California coast is one of the best in decades, continuing a
remarkable comeback story for a species that was hunted to the brink of
extinction and in more recent years experienced high death rates due to
food scarcity.
Marine biologists say that at the
moment, a population estimated at more than 20,000 gray whales appears
to be healthy and reproducing well, as compared to the hundreds that
washed up dead and the emaciated individuals that were observed 15 years
ago as changing oceanographic conditions eliminated or modified their
food supply.
“Right now, it’s a good story — a
population that recovered and is doing well,” said Wayne Perryman, a
federal marine biologist who has been studying gray whales for 22 years.
“The animals look robust and healthy.”
Whale tour boat operators are reporting a banner year for sightings.
“This was the most impressive gray
whale season that I’ve had in all my years,” said Capt. Rick Powers, a
Bodega Bay skipper who has been conducting tours for 31 years.
“We saw gray whales every single
trip this season. It’s very unusual to go out every trip and bat a
thousand,” he said of the trips he’s led so far this spring.
Despite the rosy picture, scientists
are concerned the whales face continued peril from the unfolding
effects of climate change. And advocates for the leviathans, such as the
California Gray Whale Coalition, worry that a Washington state Indian
tribe’s current proposal to resume traditional gray whale hunting could
open the door for more widespread killing of grays, as well as
humpbacks.
The gray whales, which spotters say
make up 95 percent of the whales seen off the Sonoma Coast, face a host
of challenges, from both man-made obstacles and natural predators, as
they head toward their Arctic feeding grounds, where they gorge during
the summer on tons of minuscule, shrimplike bottom-dwelling amphipods.
The round-trip migration, which
averages approximately 12,000 miles, is considered one of the longest
among mammals. The northbound migration off the California Coast is
expected to run through May.
Bodega Head provides one of the best
places on the Sonoma Coast to spot the whales as they come past Doran
Beach, and around the mouth of the bay, just outside the surf line.
“The cows and the calves come by
very close to the shore — within 100 yards,” said Larry Tiller, a
naturalist who is at Bodega Head almost daily to help people spot the
whales, which can measure up to 50 feet in length, and educate them
about the mammals.
Conditions were windy with 20- to 25-mph gusts on Wednesday as Tiller spotted the telltale spouts and backs of whales.
“Right on cue,” he said as a couple
pairs of mothers and calves appeared. “They’re going north to Alaska,”
he announced to curious observers, including one middle-aged woman
seeing a whale for the first time.
“It about made me cry. I saw the
fluke, two little spouts. I’m no longer a whale virgin!” exclaimed Gusti
Boiani, an energy medicine practitioner from Colorado.
As the calves, most of which are
born in the warm waters of Mexican lagoons, swim north for the first
time under the protective presence of their mothers, they have to
contend with avoiding boats and freighters in major shipping lanes, as
well as fishing gear — nets, lines and floats — that can entangle them.
There is also underwater noise from seismic surveys that advocates see
as a serious threat to the whales.
One of the biggest hazards is killer
orca whales eager to pounce on the relatively defenseless baby gray
whales if they stray, for example, into the deeper waters of Monterey
Bay.
Mother whales try to fend off
attacks by having the babies roll onto the mothers’ backs. But thousands
of miles ahead is another formidable challenge — Unimak Pass — a choke
point at the Alaskan Peninsula where orcas congregate.
“There are probably 200 killer
whales waiting to make calf sandwiches. They lose quite a few,” said
Perryman, a scientist with National Marine Fisheries Service.
He said that by the time the mother
gray whales arrive there with their calves, “They are out of gas after
lactating four months. There’s not much strength left.”
By some estimates as many as
30 percent of the newly born whales don’t survive their first year. But
once past that critical first year, gray whales can live 40 to 60 years,
with some making it perhaps to 80 years of age.
Biologists say the past four years
have been good for calf production following high overall mortality
rates for both adults and calves in 1999 and 2000.
“In the last four or five years, the
numbers have picked up,” said Steven Swartz, a marine biologist who has
studied gray whales for almost 40 years. “It suggests they found enough
food and the population is healthy enough that they’re starting to
reproduce like they used to.”
Swartz, who focuses his studies on
the whale nursery in San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico, said the whale
population looks quite healthy. “The whales are looking good and their
birth rates are coming back up,” he said.
He said that by some estimates, as many as 10,000 whales may have died over several years, around the turn of the 21st century.
Scientists theorized that high water
surface temperatures led to a decline in the amphipod mass that the
gray whales feast on in the Bering and Chukchi seas, and they had a hard
time building up enough blubber to sustain themselves on their
migration to the Mexican lagoons.
Researchers from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the evidence indicates the
whales are delaying their migration some years, expanding their feeding
range along the migration route and northward to Arctic waters, even
remaining in polar waters over winter — all indications that the North
Pacific and Arctic ecosystems are in transition.
An Atlantic gray whale population
was believed to have become extinct around 1750 at the hands of whaling
fleets. But as polar ice has receded and the Northwest Passage has
opened, solitary gray whales again have made it into the Atlantic, even
showing up in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Namibia, in Africa.
Gray whales have a unique advantage in the way they are able to switch their diet. Although primarily bottom feeders
who suck up their food, they also can skim and gulp other types of prey
such as ghost shrimp, mycid shrimp and pelagic crab.
“One of the characteristics that’s
made them so successful is if they can’t find their primary food on the
bottom, they can take advantage of other sources of prey to make ends
meet,” Swartz said.
During their migration along the
California coast, gray whales are counted in a couple of spots as part
of organized efforts using volunteers with binoculars, as well as by
government scientists aided by aerial photography and even
thermo-imaging that can detect the warm-blooded creatures at night.
Biologists who have been keeping
count of the whales for decades say that this year witnessed a record
southbound migration and one of the highest years for northbound whales,
with plenty of healthy-looking youngsters.
“It’s another really, really good
year,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, Gray Whale Census director for the
American Cetacean Society’s Los Angeles chapter. She said that this year, there were
1,901 whales counted on the southbound migration, the highest in the 32
years her organization has been doing it.
Not only has the Cetacean Society
seen high numbers, Schulman-Janiger said every whale tour operator in
Southern California she’s talked to says it’s the best year they can
remember.
The gray whale was one of the first
to be designated for protection under an international whaling
agreement in 1937, but 20 years ago it was removed from the list of
endangered and threatened species.
That has led a Native American
tribe, the Makah of Washington, to propose that the U.S. government
allow it to resume limited hunting, killing a maximum of five gray
whales annually.
Whale protection groups are
adamantly opposed, saying it will set bad precedent, with other tribes
and nations wanting to get back into the hunt.
“Killing whales in the 21st century
has no place in any culture,” stated Sue Arnold, director of the
California Gray Whale Coalition.
“There is no way of predicting the
future, but what the coalition can say is that with the extent of
threats, the future of the gray whale is not secure,” she said in an
email.
The gray whale has managed to
overcome a lot of adversity. Scientists say the modern species has been
around for 120,000 to 140,000 years, through a constantly changing
coastal habitat of rising and falling sea levels and multiple ice ages.
“They’re called robustis for a reason,” Swartz said referring to their Latin nomenclature. “They are a pretty good survivor.”
Article and images sourced from http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3870565-181/whales-make-comeback-off-sonoma?page=0
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