最近无意中在腾讯视频网站上看到了关于蒙特雷湾海洋生物的一个纪录片(BBC live show: BIG BLUE LIVE)，勾起了和闺蜜沙一起去蒙特雷玩耍的场景，特别是看到了蒙特雷水族馆的那个观景平台，好熟悉。
但没想到原来那个观景平台出去竟是这么大的一片海域，这么多有趣的海洋生物会在固定的季节来到蒙特雷湾“度假”。同时，也深感在水族馆的旅行记忆还是很浅薄的，所以趁此机会再重新认识一下蒙特雷湾特有的海洋生物吧！
The bay is the best exhibit!
Extraordinary wild event happening, it only last for a couple of weeks, it's going to be the biggest gathering of marine mammals in the world. Animals are gathering here from all over the Pacific for a huge feast.
Animals gathering: humpback from south and east america, Mexico; white sharks from south pacific ocean; elephant seals from north, Alaska.
Tools :Camera above and below the surface, helicopter, birds eye view, research vessels (harma), spot animals, underwater robot, image sonar
Monterey bay 蒙特雷湾
From north to south, it is 21 miles long, same range as English Channel, but 20 times deaper. Full of nutrient. 60 years ago, it was a dead bay, animals were extinct.
Southern sea otter 海濑（Beaver 海狸)
Sea otters are the smallest marine mammals on earth. They have well rounded teeth adapted for crushing shells of crabs, urchins, and other invertebrates. They use rocks as tools to dislodge prey(逐出猎食者) and break open their food and tend to stay in open waters gathering and "rafting" together in groups.
Size: Weight: 29kg Length: 1.5m
Lifespan: 23 years, 50% survival from baby
Diet: They eat bottom dwelling invertebrates[ɪn'vɝtɪbret]( 无脊椎动物) such as crabs, clams (海蚌), urchins(海胆), squid(鱿鱼) and octopus(章鱼).
Distribution: Over 80% of southern sea otters live within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Journey to Monterey Bay: Year round residents
You may not know...
They have the densest fur in the animal kingdom – a million hairs per square inch.
They wrap themselves in kelp(大海草，海草灰, not sea wead) while sleeping to stop themselves drifting away in rough seas and conserve energy, not usually on shore
Maternal behaviour : They wash face and furs, feed 12 times a day to child, eat for nearly half a day, 1/4 its body. Puppy will stay with mom for 6 months.
Bixby estuary 比克斯比河口
This location is incredibly significant in the history of southern sea otters. It is the place where the last remaning southern sea otters were discovered in 1938.
Before then, southern sea otters had been hunted for their soft thick pelts and were thought to be extinct. From those few survivors found in Bixby estuary, the otter has increased its population to the numbers we see in Monterey Bay today.
Humpback whale 座头鲸
Humpback whales are a favourite for whale watchers(鲸鱼观赏者), as they frequently perform aerial displays, such as breaching or slapping the surface with their pectoral fins, tails, or heads. They travel great distances during their seasonal migration, the farthest of any mammal. The longest recorded migration was 5,160 miles (8,300 km).
Size: Weight: 36,000kg Length: 18m
Lifespan: 50 years
Diet: Krill(磷虾), plankton(浮游生物) and small fish such as anchovies([æntʃovi]凤尾鱼) and sardines(沙丁鱼), eat almost 1ton a day. Manage to separate the krills and the water, not through teeth but through baleen(鲸须).
Distribution: They're found in all major oceans from the equator to sub-polar latitudes.
Journey to Monterey Bay:
They usually migrate here from their breeding grounds off Costa Rica and Mexico. But this year, for the first time ever, some humpbacks have spent winter in California.over 1000 miles to monterey bay
Migration journey need beat against strong currents洋流 and killer whales 虎鲸, you can see marks on the fins of almost every young humpback whales.
You may not know...
Only the male sings.
Humpback whales frequently perform aerial displays(空中的展示), such as breaching撕裂 or slapping the surface with their pectoral[pɛktərəl]胸部的 fins(鳍), tails, or heads./ breaches a lot/ two breath holes 两个气孔
Navigate humback, you can use birds (pelican鹈鹕/sea gulls海鸥) from new zealand, they feed exactly the food as humback whales.
Last whaling station(whale hunting) was closed in 1971, blubber(特指鲸鱼的脂肪) was a source of oil. from street lamps to lubricant(润滑剂) to machines.
California sea lion 海狮 (not seals)
California sea lions are members of the "eared seal" family, Otariidae. They are social animals(bark) and form large onshore groups over several hundred individuals. At sea they are fast, agile灵敏的 swimmers and can often be seen porpoising[pɔrpəs]在水面疾行 and wave riding. Males are larger (3 times of the females), more robust and darker in colour while the females tend to be smaller lighter and more slender.
They have long whiskers(腮须) to sense the surrondings and avoid the threat from white sharks.
Size: Weight: 455kg Length: 2.25m
Lifespan: 20-30 years
Diet: Squid, anchovies, mackerel, rockfish, and sardines
Distribution: Range from British Columbia to Mexico
Journey to Monterey Bay: Year round residents
You may not know...
Under the water: can dive for 12 minutes at a time, while on the shore/rock :digesting, warming up, sleeping
Rocks are sometimes found in their stomachs and it is thought they may create a false sensation of fullness during the fasting period.
El nino 厄尔尼诺现象
warm water stay in monterey bay
季风产生，导致温度上升
great white sharks 大白鲨
Often described as the ultimate shark, the great white shark is a powerful apex predator捕食者 . When hunting, they rely on the element of surprise, ambushing their prey from below. They are warm-blooded fish, which allows them to swim faster and for longer than cold-blooded sharks of similar size.56 miles/hour, sentive to viberate.
Size: Weight: 3,300kg(2t) Length: 6.4m
Lifespan: 70+ years, warm blood animals
Diet: Seals, sea lions (other than southern otter), dolphins, fish such as rays and other sharks, top of the food chains, they like food with much fat, sharks swim between the food. Fly fishing, use imitation of seals.Not usually attack human.
Distribution: They're found mostly in temperate waters and range from Southeast Alaska to California in the Pacific.
Journey to Monterey Bay:
Our great whites have arrived at the bay from Hawaii and Los Angeles as part of their two year migration.maybe half of the pacific
You may not know...
Great whites are the largest predatory shark on Earth.
They can communicate to each other with intricate body language.
They give birth to live young, juveniles
They live most the warmest part of the beach, juveniles are new to human beings, protection in 1994, then sharks population gradually recover. shallow water are safe place for them, partly from beach crowded with people.
Northern elephant seals 海象
Northern elephant seals are the largest true seal in the Northern Hemisphere. When males reach puberty at about 7 years old, they develop a large inflatable膨胀的 nose, or proboscis. This curious feature overhangs their lower lip by around 20cm and helps to generate their incredibly loud mating call.
Size: Weight: 2200kg Length: 4m
Lifespan: 22 years
Diet: Sharks, fish, crab, squid, and octopus
Distribution: Northern California to central Mexico
Journey to Monterey Bay:
Our seals have travelled from as far as the deep seas off Alaska to reach the bay.
You may not know...
They spend 80% of their life at sea.
They're the largest land animals in the Americas.
Blue whales
Blue whales are largest of all baleen whales and are found worldwide.They have a long slender body with a proportionally smaller dorsal fin than other whales. Blue whales in the Northern Hemisphere are generally smaller than those in the South.
Size:Weight: Over 150,000kg Length: 33m
Life span:80-90 years
Diet: Krill, red crabs 4tons a day
Distribution:They're found worldwide, from sub-polar to sub-tropical latitudes.
Journey to Monterey Bay:
Our blue whales have arrived from their breeding grounds off Central America.
California blue whales may have 2000, the healthiest part in the world.
You may not know...
The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived on Earth.
The Latin namemusculusmeans “little mouse” and was the basis for the first description by Linnaeus.
Sardines canning industry
In 1950s, Monterey is a town of fishing industry, caused much pollution in the bay. It is now the mother of global marine reserves.
video link: https://v.qq.com/x/cover/wt4ynv46blqgm28/h0023617jpq.html
words link：http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02v036z
