Though whale watching is available in many places throughout the world’s oceans, there is no place that approaches the immediacy of encounters with gray whales in Baja. Forget views of breaching humpbacks off the bow of your boat or schools of orcas racing past your ship. Think instead of hanging over the gunwale of a tiny fisherman’s panga to stroke the giant head of a whale that has just swum alongside. This is the experience awaiting whale watchers in Baja.
In a 2008 report published by International Fund for Animal Welfare and others, entitled The State of Whale Watching in Latin America, authors Eduardo Hoyt and Miguel Iniguez state, “The gray whale lagoons of México are unique in the world — nearly enclosed salt-water lagoons in the desert where gray whales come to mate and raise their calves in full view of spectators.”
Gray Whale Migration
Gray whales make the longest migration of any mammal, traveling as much as 10,000 miles during their annual commute between feeding grounds in the Bering and Chuckchi Seas and their breeding grounds in the Pacific lagoons of Baja, Mexico.
These baleen whales feed by sucking sediments from the ocean bottom and sieving them through their baleen for tiny invertebrate prey. Migrating grays usually stay close to shore and are regularly sighted from points along the west coast of North America.
Where to Watch Gray Whales
It is in Baja’s sheltering lagoons that these gentle giants can not only be seen, but met, looked in the eye, caressed, and even kissed. Grays congregate both to mate and give birth in the safe warm waters of Laguna Ojo de Liebre (previously known as Scammon’s Lagoon), Laguna San Ignacio, and Magdalena Bay.
There are a host of companies operating whale-watching tours to Baja, many of which are run by or employ locals. Two companies that stand out are Summertree Institute and Cedros Outdoor Adventures. Summertree is a nonprofit with excellent naturalists that also gives a portion of its fee to conservation projects in Mexico. Cedros Outdoor Adventures is run by locals and led by a marine biologist with 20 years of experience in Baja who has studied the grays.
Petting Whales
Whale watchers in nearby pangas (skiffs) sometimes initiate a friendly rivalry for who is most “popular” among the whales because regulations require panga drivers to stop in the water when they near a whale or mother-baby pair. It is then up to the whales to approach the people in the pangas, who do everything in their power — slapping the boat, splashing the water, even cooing — to lure them closer. Though the whales do not approach every time, it happens reliably enough to keep people returning in droves every year during the prime viewing months of January through March.
“Baby, baby…” people croon, hanging out of the boat. Then a young whale brushes by and fingertips touch the roughness of a barnacled back, or a whale’s large nose bumps the panga, as if saying hello. Sometimes it’s even possible to give a kiss or reach inside the whale’s mouth and riffle the baleen. Children riding the bow are nearly always as thrilled as the adults on board.
Why are Gray Whales so Friendly?
The central mystery of these gray whales, known as “friendlies,” is why? Why approach us, and why allow people to touch them? Among whale watchers and scientists, no one knows for certain, but everyone has an answer based on personal experience.
Experiencing gray whales in Baja ranks as a peak life experience. The best months to visit are January through March, and the biggest problem an ecotourist is likely to encounter is the decision about which of the many available tour operators to select.
Sources:
Thompson, Doug. 2006. Whales: Touching the Mystery. New Sage Press. Troutdale, Oregon.
Summertree tour of San Ignacio Lagoon, 2007
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