Ballenas before breakfast in “Boca de Soledad”
Bahia Magdalena is one of several lagoons along the pacific coast of Baja California, that represent the major birthing and breeding areas for California gray whales. Guerrero Negro, Scammon’s Lagoon and San Ignacio Lagoon are the others. The northern entrance to Magdalena Bay is called Boca de Soledad (the Mouth of Solitude). Pregnant females come to these quiet and shallow waters to calve because of the warm waters and the protection for the young from sharks and killer whales.
Most of the young are born from January through the first half of February weighing 2000 lbs. and measuring 15 feet, a little over a third the length of the mother.While seeking “Ballenas Grises” before breakfast, we were accompanied by local “pangueros” the name of the men and women that take tourists to watch the gray whales. This is a comparatively new activity known as “ballenear”. These local guides help us find the whales and their presence is a part of the regulations from the Mexican government for whale watching using our Zodiacs.
Our morning effort, waiting expectantly over 35 minutes, was well rewarded with a close encounter with at least two friendly mother/calf pairs that made us all jump from our seats in a kind of “musical whaling chairs”.
Bahia Magdalena is one of several lagoons along the pacific coast of Baja California, that represent the major birthing and breeding areas for California gray whales. Guerrero Negro, Scammon’s Lagoon and San Ignacio Lagoon are the others. The northern entrance to Magdalena Bay is called Boca de Soledad (the Mouth of Solitude). Pregnant females come to these quiet and shallow waters to calve because of the warm waters and the protection for the young from sharks and killer whales.
Most of the young are born from January through the first half of February weighing 2000 lbs. and measuring 15 feet, a little over a third the length of the mother.While seeking “Ballenas Grises” before breakfast, we were accompanied by local “pangueros” the name of the men and women that take tourists to watch the gray whales. This is a comparatively new activity known as “ballenear”. These local guides help us find the whales and their presence is a part of the regulations from the Mexican government for whale watching using our Zodiacs.
Our morning effort, waiting expectantly over 35 minutes, was well rewarded with a close encounter with at least two friendly mother/calf pairs that made us all jump from our seats in a kind of “musical whaling chairs”.
