Rare blue whales cruise California's coast and thrill tourists

BLUE WHALES surge through the sea off California, surfacing to breathe — and astonish spectators. These are the world's biggest animals, gargantuan creatures of the deep that can be as long as three school buses and weigh more than 300,000 pounds.

Small boats, laden with binocular-draped whale-watchers, head out to sea from San Diego to San Francisco in eager search of blue whales. They're not easy to find.

Once several hundred thousand strong, blue whales were decimated by commercial whaling in the early 1900s. Only an estimated 5,000 to 12,000 blue whales remain, an endangered species roaming the Atlantic and Pacific — the biggest concentration of about 2,000 living off the California coast.

Once seen, blue whales are not forgotten. The immense heads of the sleek, muscled, silver-blue whales cleave the surface, their vast bodies stretching behind. Exhaling, they spout columns of water 30 feet in the air.

Yet blue whales are gentle giants, feeding on tiny shrimplike krill. They form tight social bonds. They're smart, communicating in complex ways, including by singing.

The whales' deep notes rumble through the ocean. Perhaps, since commercial whaling was restricted and their populations are beginning to grow, it's not such a sad song anymore.

Kristin R. Jackson is a Seattle Times travel writer and editor. Contact her at kjackson@seattletimes.com.