Table 1. — Sexual behavior, indicating date, water depth, locality, migration direction and remarks. 



Date 



time 

 water depth 



Location' 



Direction 



of 

 nnigration 



Remarks 



south 



north 



south 



south 



north 



north 



north 



north 



2 whales attempting copulation (see text for description) 



3 whales lay at the surface and rolled on their sides Water surface 

 much agitated and 2 animals seen to surface with heads vertically 

 thrust from the water as far as the eye, in close enough contact to 

 be attempting copulation. No penis observed 0.5 km away another 

 pair behaving similarly. Water exceptionally calm. 



3 whales made repeated attempts at copulation (see text for 

 description). 



2 whales repeatedly attempted copulation. 



3 courting whales observed by Margot Nelson. Erect penis of S 

 clearly seen during attempted copulation 



3 courting whales. Still in progress when observation terminated 

 (see text for description) 



3 courting whales observed. Too far off for details to be observed, 

 although behavior pattern similarto that observed on other occasions. 



3 courting whales Behavior similar to that observed on other occa- 

 sions, although no penis observed. For whole period of observation 

 3-4 California sea lions Zaiophus calilornianus cavorted around the 

 whale trio, about their heads, moving under and over the whales, 

 often "porpoising." On occasion the sea lions would remain vertically 

 in the water, heads down beneath the surface, presumably observing 

 the whales, while their hind flippers protruded from the surface. 



'All locations in Monterey County, Calif. 



third whale was always in very close attendance 

 and apparently in bodily contact with the pair 

 attempting mating. Gilmore (1960:16; 1968:12) 

 observed such trios in Mexican waters and specu- 

 lated that the third whale was another <J . "With 

 half of the females unavailable each winter Tor 

 mating', there are two eligible males for each 

 female." He described the apparent lack of aggres- 

 sion between SS, and this appeared to be so in the 

 present observations. Walker (1971:403) believed 

 the second male in such trios helps to stabilize 

 the mating pair. More detailed aerial observation 

 will be needed to clarify the role of the second 

 male. 



In comparing the Monterey observations with 

 Sauer's detailed Bering Sea account, the following 

 differences were noted: 



1. His observations appear to have involved 

 pairs rather than trios, although Fay (1963) re- 

 ported three whales involved in "courtship play" 

 some 30 km from the site of Sauer's observations. 



2. Sauer does not mention seeing the penis dis- 

 played. 



3. Sauer's animals repeatedly swam in circles 

 50-200 m in diameter. Such circling was not dis- 

 cernible in Monterey, where the activity took 

 place in the open sea rather than within the con- 

 fines of a small bay. 



4. His description of the female initiating and 

 achieving copulation (Sauer, 1963:166) by means 

 of a "touch display" could not be verified in Mon- 

 terey, where the observers' viewpoint was usually 

 only 7-8 m above the water surface and the whales 

 from 300 to 600 m distant. Sauer (1963:159) also 

 described the whales as sensitive to his silhouette 

 on the cliffs above and liable to break off courtship 

 activity. This contrasts with behavior in Mon- 

 terey, where courting pairs and trios were seen on 

 three occasions to be approached by powered boats 

 to within a few meters without apparent interrup- 

 tion of their activity. No "post-copulatory shake" 

 was observed among the Monterey animals. 



617 



