Laguna San Ignacio
Our journey north along the Pacific coast of Baja Califonia Sur has ended, and now we begin to experience close encounters with one of the most fascinating creatures to be seen on this incredible expedition, the California gray whale. This cetacean (group to which whales, dolphins and porpoises belong) is one of the most observed, perhaps because of its 10,000-mile round trip migration along the coasts of western North America and the peninsula of Baja California, where it comes to mate and to be born.
One of many behaviors that gray whales display is known as spyhopping. In the shallow lagoons of San Ignacio, Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's), and at Bahia Magdalena (all in Baja California), the whale may simply rest its flukes on the sea floor and lift its head out of the water. Is it gravity digestion? Are we watching the whale, or is he studying us? This gray whale calf certainly appeared to be looking at us.
An updated census made by the local pangueros (the guides that take visitors to watch the whales in small boats called pangas) revealed that there are over 140 gray whales still in Laguna San Ignacio, something that is considered rather unusual as it is late in the season of the "Ballena Gris".
Our journey north along the Pacific coast of Baja Califonia Sur has ended, and now we begin to experience close encounters with one of the most fascinating creatures to be seen on this incredible expedition, the California gray whale. This cetacean (group to which whales, dolphins and porpoises belong) is one of the most observed, perhaps because of its 10,000-mile round trip migration along the coasts of western North America and the peninsula of Baja California, where it comes to mate and to be born.
One of many behaviors that gray whales display is known as spyhopping. In the shallow lagoons of San Ignacio, Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's), and at Bahia Magdalena (all in Baja California), the whale may simply rest its flukes on the sea floor and lift its head out of the water. Is it gravity digestion? Are we watching the whale, or is he studying us? This gray whale calf certainly appeared to be looking at us.
An updated census made by the local pangueros (the guides that take visitors to watch the whales in small boats called pangas) revealed that there are over 140 gray whales still in Laguna San Ignacio, something that is considered rather unusual as it is late in the season of the "Ballena Gris".
