It is believed that the warmer than usual waters are drawing a lot of baitfish, which further lured the whales in search for their food.
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According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher biologist Jen Zamon, “The lack of upwelling, which brings nutrients and the cold water at the bottom of the surface, is sort of what fertilizes the ocean and garden if you will, and it makes the whole food chain explode”.
Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium captured pictures of the Humpback whales close to Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach and multiple photographic encounters along the Columbia River at Astoria.
A group of humpback whales have been filmed swimming among boaters in the Columbia River, having moved into the waterway from their normal home in the Pacific.
The Columbia River forms almost the entire border between Oregon and Washington. They said that on the north Oregon coast, the Humpback whales have been making daily appearances close to the beaches, and even eight miles up one river.
“That’s where resources are”, said Bruce Mate, the director of the Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, according to OregonLive. Humpback whales are huge animals, measuring up to 52 feet in length and can weigh up to 40 tons.
The humpbacks flourish in most of the seas all around the nation and maybe have a shift choice of around 16,000 airline miles.
As per News OXeY report, the El Niño is a recurring climate storm event that emanated from the Pacific Ocean and has been taking place during the past several months, bringing forward strangely warm waters in the central and eastern areas of the basin.
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She thinks they will likely stay in the river as long as their food supply is there or until winter, when they will head south to breed.
