Whale Watchers Witness Birth of Gray Whale Calf

On Monday, whale watchers witnessed the birth of a gray whale calf off the coast of Dana Point. Those few aboard Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching catamaran sailboat got to witness a miracle. Not many can say that they saw a whale, let alone a mother whale give birth by their boat. That’s precisely what happened to these individuals!

According to the sailboat staff, they noticed a gray whale acting strange. She was not swimming in a straight line but in a circle. Following her was blood. Stacie Fox, who has worked on the boat for three years, figured it was a female giving birth. She notified the captain so that they could witness the birth of the gray whale calf and take pictures.

Fox said the gray whale calf looked “like a pickle” next to its mama. She also said that the mother gray whale and newborn calf stayed around the boat for 45 minutes. The calf learned how to swim and the cow even came over to the boat and nudged it. Fox said, “It is kinda hard to put into words how amazing it was. I’ve always wanted to see a whale birth but I never thought it would actually happen.” The thrilled staff member also said that the whales are migrating now to Baja, California, Mexico, where they go to give birth. I guess this one couldn’t wait any longer.

The staff and those aboard the boat got to experience something incredible that not everyone will get to see in their lifetime. Capt Dave’s staff also said that this was the first time they had witnessed a whale calf’s birth in their 25 years of whale watching.

It is estimated that there are less than 17,0000 gray whales in the ocean. Their numbers have diminished over the years due to being hunted, entanglement in fishing gear, ship collisions, plastic, and noise pollution. Let’s hope that this mom and gray whale calf enjoy a safe journey and live to enjoy at least fifty happy years in the ocean.