"Touch it, touch it, touch it," Marielle J. Robles shouts to our group as a Gray Whale glides towards our panga (small boat). Touching wildlife feels wrong. Yet, evidence and folklore suggests Gray Whales in Baja are the exception. I trust Marielle, who guides for an ecotourism company — Explora Baja — whose owners are a marine biologist and an oceanographer, respectively.
Our group spots the signature plumes of vaporized air from a distance. As the whales get closer, their exhales get louder. The rules are to never chase, approach or pursue a whale. Let them come to you, and only then can you touch what feels like a cold, hard boiled egg. For an hour, more than a dozen Mumma whales, some with calves, twirl and glide and undulate under and around our boat. I have whale watched in Tofino and Victoria, BC. Never have I been this close or this in awe of a creature that was on the brink of extinction due to overfishing 100 years ago.
The Gray Whale's annual 16,000 km (10,000 mile) swim from Baja to the Bering Sea and back is one the longest migrations of any mammal. We have traveled a fraction of that distance (255 km) from Todos Santos to Puerto Chale in an air-conditioned minivan and then whisked by boat to Magdalena Bay. We are a group of 6 passengers: three Canadians: John, Alietha, and myself from Yellowknife. Jason aka Squid remains behind because of an uncooperative hip. The 3 American are Jason Palmer, his wife, Victoria, and their delightful 7-year-old daughter, Caitrina, from Joshua Tree, CA. We are in the capable hands of Marielle and the panga driver whose name I mistakenly forget to ask. We respect the rules but of course someone will always want to chase or annoy or even swim with whales. That’s where the local captains and guides, even the police, come in. Magdalena Bay is heavily regulated to protect the whales.
No doubt there are skeptics. The US-based NOAA¹ (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) says humans should only observe whales from a safe distance of at least 100 yards—the length of a football field—unless other species-specific rules apply. Rules definitely apply in this part of the Baja. National Geographic photographer Thomas Peschak prided himself on his "fly on the wall" approach to photographing wildlife. That changed in 2017 in the San Ignacio Lagoon.
"...when [the whales] do make contact, you have no choice but to engage with them—rubbing their heads, giving them a good scratch or splashing water on them. If you take the hands-off approach, they’ll hang around for less than a minute. They look at you as if to say 'What, you’re not going to play?' And then they are gone."²
Like San Ignacio Lagoon 350 km to the north, Peurto Chalace is a tight-knit isolated coastal community. Whale watching is an economic boost for local businesses and for panga operators many who are seasonal fisherman. The same is true for the tour guides and shuttle drivers who live in larger centres and work seasonally.
Their livelihoods depend on protecting this undocumented percentage of Gray Whales that seek human interaction in March and April. Stephanie Engle writes about how-it-all began in her article "2024 Guide to Magdalena Bay's Gray Whale Season." She says that in the 1970's in San Ignacio lagoon, a fisherman had several friendly encounters with a Gray Whale. Some 50 years later, the visits continue, with restrictions.
Gray Whales grow to about 15 meters (49 feet), the equivalent of two school buses. Gray whales are not considered predatory hunters, like their cousin the Orca (Killer) Whale. Instead, Grays are plankton eating, filter feeders. This requires them to swim through dense patches of amphipod crustaceans, which are tiny small shrimp-like specs. With their mouth wide open, the crustaceans are trapped and filtered through the whale's baleen plates. The website "Feeding Nature"³ says this specialized technique allows Gray Whales to consume thousands of amphipods in a single mouthful.
When the first Gray Whale disappears under our panga, I get verklempt. “Don’t worry, I was the same way the first time,” Victoria offers. I am overwhelmed by the proximity of a barnacle-crusted creature that spends 50-70 years of its life in an underwater loop of birthing, feeding and breeding.
Once we are back on land, we enjoy fish and shrimp tacos and then head back to Todos Santos. Shout out to Explora Baja (www.explorabaja.com), a locally owned ecotour company that prioritizes conservation and small groups. The tours are led by rigorously trained, bilingual guides, like Marielle. It was an added bonus when our minivan driver, Eucebio, showed us photos of his daughter's quinceañera — an expensive coming of age party for 15 year old girls. I highly recommend Explora Baja, which also offers 1:1 surf lessons on Cerritos Beach ...
SOURCES AND RECOMMENDED READING
1. www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/marine-life-viewing-guidelines
2. www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/gray-whales-baja-mexico
NOAA MAP = content/uploads/2021/02/47970218196_612817302d_o-1536x1072.jpg
3. feedingnature.com/what-do-gray-whales-eat/
4. marinepatch.com/what-do-gray-whales-eat/
5. www.seakayakadventures.com/blog/guide-to-magdalena-bay-gray-whale-season#
2024 GRAY WHALES, BAJA
We had a mind blowing Gray Whale watching trip with Explora Baja on Feb. 15, 2024. Worth every peso. I shot the video on my iphone. The underwater viz was shot by our guide Marielle J. Robles (IG #sharkmarphoto) who provided the video without a charge. I highly recommend this tour company (www.explorabaja.com).
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