LAPUSH — The Quileute tribe will welcome migrating gray whales in a ceremony on Thursday.
The ceremony at 1:30 p.m. will be at the mouth of the Quillayute River in LaPush.
“We’ll have various leaders of the tribe making some statements and giving oral presentations,” said Leon Strom, who is helping with the event.
Students from the Quileute Tribal School will sing and dance.
“They’ll be welcoming back the whales, and we’ll also have some tribal songs, and we want to talk about the history and recognize some of the families who had to do with whaling,” Strom said.
Other tribes invited
Other area tribes have been invited to the second annual event to hail the return of the beasts as they swim from their winter birthing grounds in Baja California, Mexico, to summer habitat in Alaska’s Bering Sea.
Once the ceremony is finished, the group will go to the community center in LaPush and continue with more singing, dancing and drumming.
The tribe’s Oceanside Resort, which is on First Beach, is partnering this year with Pacific Coast Charters for whale-watching excursions.
The excursions will begin April 1 and run through May 15.
Capt. Anthony Demorest will run the three-hour tours on his boat, Ali Lynn.
Prices begin at $210 for two people and include overnight accommodations at the resort.
Gray whales can weigh up to 40 tons and grow as long as 45 feet.
Mother whales with calves often roll just beyond the surf, while the males don’t get as close to the shore.
Mother whales will begin to show up in early to mid-April, while the early whales start appearing off the beach a little sooner.
Gray whales feed primarily on bottom-dwelling organisms, taking in mouthfuls of sediment and sieving through it for their prey.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
