SIGHTING CARD - To Be Filled out As Soon As Possible After A Marine Mammal Is Seen 



Name (Optional) 



Occupation 



Date 



Time of da> whale, dolphin, or seal or sea lion was seen_ 



Time of day card was filled out a.ni._ 



Platform activity at the time 



Estimate of noise on platform when animal was seen 



on a scale of 1 to 10; with 1 as quiet and 10 as noisy 



Estimate of distance marine mammals were from the platform in yards_ 



What direction from the platform 



were the marine mammals? 



f^ i) Towards shore 



LJ 1) Out to sea 



£7 3) Upcoast 



n 4) Downcoast 



What direction were the marine 



mammal s travel i ng? 



n 1) Towards shore 



CJ Z) Out to sea 



O 3) Upcoast 



n 4) Downcoast 



Did the marine mammals change 



direction while you were watching? 



/I7 1) Ves 



rj 2) NO 



If Ves, did they change direction: 



n 1) Towards the platform? 



n 2) Away from the platform? 



Did you see: 



O 1) Whale? 



n 2) Porpoises or dolphins? 



£7 3) Seal or sea lion? 



Did you see; 



O 1) A single animal? 



EJ 2) A group of animals? 



If you saw a group, about how many 



animals were in the group? 



If possible, name the kind of animals 



How big was it? 



O 1) Less than 20 feet 



O 2) 20 to 30 feet 



O 3) Greater than 30 feet 



n 4) Don' t know 



Please fill out the questions below 

 whether or not you know the name of 

 the animal you saw. If you saw a 

 large whale (more than 20 feet) 

 please fill out Questions 17-29. If 

 you saw a dolphin, porpoise, or 

 small whale (less than 20 feet) fill 

 out questions 30-40. If you saw a 

 seal or sea Hon, fill out Questions 

 41-47. If you are unsure whether 

 what you saw was a dolphin or a seal 

 please fill out Questions 30-47. 



17. Please check any characteristics 

 that you can remember for the 

 appropriate type of animal. 



LARGE WHALE 



(Questions 17-29 only) 



18. Shape and size of spout (check 

 one of each choice) 



1) O Single £7 Double 



2) CJ Forward on head 

 £7 Back on head 



3) CJ Shot forward 

 £7 Shot straight up 



4) O Shot high £7 Shot low 



5) £7 Don't know 



19. Dorsal fin 

 £7 1) Present 

 £7 2) Absent 

 £7 3) Don't know 



Behavior (Answer as many questions as 

 you can) 



20. Did it show its flukes? 

 £7 1) Yes 



£7 2) No 



CCP 



Did It juiiip out of the 



water? 



CJ \) Yes 



CJ 2) NO 



Did it stick Its head 



out of the water? 



£7 1) Ves 



£7 2) No 



Did it slap its tail? 



£7 1) Ves 



£7 2) No 



Did it swim: 



£7 1) On the surface 



most of the 



time, or 

 O 2) did it dive a 



lot? 



£7 1) Did it mill 



around In the 

 same area, 



£7 2) or was it 

 traveling? 



Shape and size of 

 head, if possible 

 £7 1) Broad & rounded 

 £7 2) Pointed S 



triangular 

 O 3) Blunt S rounded 

 £7 4) Don't know 



Shape of body, if 



possible 



£7 1) Long and thin 



£7 2) Fat 4 rounded 



£7 3) Don' t know 



Did it have long white 



front f Tippers? 



£7 1) Ves 



O 2) No 



£7 3) Don't know 



Were there any baby 

 whales in the group? 



el Ves 

 2 No 

 £7 3) Don't know 



DOLPHIN, PORPOISE, 

 or SMALL WHALE 



(Questions 30-40 Only) 



30. Dorsal fin: 

 £7 1) Present 

 £7 2) Absent 

 £7 3) Don't know 



31. Shape of dorsal fin 

 (Check one of each 



pair) 



1) £7 Tall O short 



2) £7 Erect & trian- 



gular £7 Curved 

 backward 



3) £7 Don't know 



32. Shape of head: 

 £7 1) Rounded & 



bul bous 

 £7 2) Pointed 

 £7 3) Don't know 



33. Snout: 



£7 1) With beak 

 £7 2) Without beak 

 CJ 3) Don' t know 



34. Color: 



£7 1) Black 



£7 2) Black S White 



£7 3) Gray 



£7 4) Don't know 



35. Did you notice any 

 scars or scratch marks? 

 £7 1) Ves 



£7 2) No 

 Behavior (Answer as many 



questions as you 

 can) 



36. Did they jump high out 

 of the water? 



CJ 1) Ves 

 O 2) No 



37. 



Did they show the char- 





acteristic porpoise 





behavior of travel ing 





quickly and jumping 





out of the water 





frequently? 





O 1) Ves 





£7 2) No 



38. 



Did they swim slowly 





and low in the water? 





£7 1) Ves 





£7 2) Ho 



39. 



Were they swimming 





rapidly and throwing 





out snray but not 





jumping out of the 





water? 





£7 1) Yes 





£7 2) No 





£7 3) Don' t know 



40. 



£7 1) Old they mill 





around in the 





same area? 





£7 2) Were they 





traveling? 



Were 



there any other 



char 



acteristlcs you noticed? 



— 





SEAL or SEA LION 



(Questions 41-47 Only) 



Shape of head: 

 £7 1) Rounded 

 £7 2) Pointed 

 £7 3) Large extended 



nose 

 £7 4) Don't know 



Did you notice any ears? 



£7 1) Yes 



£7 2) No 



Color: 



£7 1) Brown 



£7 2) Black 



£7 3) Spotted 



n 4) Oon' t know 



£7 1) Did it use front 

 flippers to 

 paddle? 

 CJ 2) Did it swim like 

 a fish with its 

 hind flippers? 

 £7 3) Couldn't tell? 

 Did it bark? 

 £7 1) Yes 

 £7 2) HO 

 CJ 3) Don't know 

 vior (Answer as many 

 questions as you 

 can) 



O 1) Did it leap out 

 of the water 

 like a porpoise? 



£7 2) Did It swim with 

 only Its head 

 showing? 



£7 1) Did it mill around 



in the same area? 

 £7 2) Was it traveling? 



Figure 5. Original Sighting Card Used in Santa Barbara Channel 



C-12 



