Curious gray whale and her calf swim up to boat and let tourists stroke them in stunning close encounter
- Adventurer Erik Jones, 39, filmed a mother whale and her calf somersaulting at San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico
- He said the group of wale watchers felt ‘ecstatic the entire time’ and described the experience as ‘epic’
- The whales keep returning to the group, which are leaning over the fishing boat, and spray them
Advertisement
A mother gray whale and her calf have been filmed swimming over to a fishing boat of wale watchers to say ‘Hi’ and get a stroke at a lagoon in Mexico.
Adventurer Erik Jones, 39, shows the spectacular moment where a robust adult gray whale glides through the turquoise waters of the San Ignacio Lagoon, on the Baja Peninsula, along side her calf, to the panga boat.
The curious sea mammals approach the boat and the mother lifts her nose above the water, in the drone footage.
Adventurer Erik Jones, 39, captured the heartwarming moment that a mother grey whale and her calf swam over to his panga boat in the turquoise waters of the San Ignacio Lagoon, on the Baja Peninsula, Mexico
She looks up to the boat, which is holding four people, and one of the passengers leans over to try and touch her.
A woman runs her hand through the water to encourage the adult whale to come closer and gives her a gentle stroke.
Appearing to love the attention, the mother whale starts spraying water in the groups faces who are leaning over the boat excited by the close encounter.
The whales would ‘just come up to the boat over and over again!’ according to Mr Jones, who captured his group leaning over the fishing boat to get a closer look on his drone
The calf later somersaults in the water, while the mother rolls on her back to show off for the amazed whale watchers.
Mr Jones, of San Luis Obispo, California, said ‘most of the time, the mothers push their young calves up to the boat to get touched by humans’.
There are even times when the mother and calf pairs would ‘compete with each other to get pet, touched, and kissed!’ according to the adventurer, who noticed how the wales would ‘just come up to the boat over and over again!’ during this interaction.
The boat’s passengers try petting the whales who appear curious about the group. The whales are said to have a ‘challenging time’ in life outside of this ‘nursery’ bay and are often targeted by orcas as they head north to the Bering Strait in Alaska
There are even instances where ‘mothers push their young calves up to the boat to get touched by humans’, according to Mr Jones. He said the group felt ‘ecstatic’ during the whales visit and were filmed splashing them
‘It was amazing to see this friendly and competitive interaction with these wild animals and humans!
‘They are so enthused to be around people! Pretty wild since whaling occurred in this bay around 50 years ago!’
The Californian and his group felt ‘ecstatic the entire time’ and described the experience as ‘epic’.
‘It was fun to review the footage and remember how we felt that day! So heartwarming to see these wild animals that have such a challenging time in life outside of this safe ‘nursery’ bay.
The mother whale appears to duck under water before gliding beneath the boat and reappearing on the other side with her calf right by her side
But he revealed how the wild animals have a ‘challenging time’ in life outside of this ‘nursery’ bay and are often targeted by orcas as they head north to the Bering Strait in Alaska.
Whales at the San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico, are known for their closeness and have been given widespread recognition for their familiarity with humans.
Wildlife Worldwide leader Chris Breen said that having ‘so many whales around the boat wanting to play with you that you don’t know where to turn is in a different league altogether’, on his website.
He claimed it is ‘probably the greatest whale watching spectacle on Earth’.