A close-up of a female Grey/Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robustus, in Laguna San Ignacio, one of the breeding lagoons in Baja California, Mexico.
In the 1800s, whalers called Gray Whales ‘devil fish’ because of their ferociousness in defending their calves if they were harpooned. Several fishing boats were destroyed by furious mother whales. Their fearsome reputation followed them for many decades, even after they became protected after over-exploitation.
In the 1970s, a whale approached a fishing boat in one of the lagoons, and although very nervous, one of the fishermen reached out and touched it. Now visiting the friendly whales in their breeding lagoons is a popular tourist activity. The local fishermen take tourists out when the cows are in the lagoons, from January until April. They have become unofficial protectors of the whales, as the tourist income is a valuable addition to their fishing earnings, especially as fish numbers have decreased.
In Laguna San Ignacio, the whales are in charge. Visitors go out in little boats captained by local fishermen and are limited to a small area of the lagoon. After going into the area, the engines are switched off for most of the time, and the boat waits for whales to approach the boat. Mothers come, and bring their calves. They want to be touched or scratched and some of the mothers even push their calves up from underneath so that they can be touched too. These are the ‘friendly’ whales, and it’s all on their terms.
Whales can stay in the larger area if they don’t want to encounter boats and people. On both days I was there, we didn’t have to wait long before the first whale arrived. This photo, © Elaine Clueit and used with her kind permission, shows me putting my hand on the jaw of one of the whales. An unforgettable experience!
The main image is copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights reserved.
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