Whale watchers were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime sight off the coast of Dana Strands in Dana Point, California, when a gray whale gave birth next to their boat. Amazing aerial footage of newborn calf’s first moments captured by a drone was posted to the YouTube page of Captain Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin and Whale watching Safari. Gray whales are regularly caught on camera in Southern California, but recorded births are extremely rare.
“At first, the image looks like a typical migratory gray whale,” the YouTube page reads. “As the boat slowly approached the animal, our crew noticed it behaving sporadically. Passengers and crew saw something orange and red in the water that they thought might be kelp. Instead, a newborn calf came to the surface! For a minute many of us thought it might be a shark or predatory event. But no, instead of the end of life, it is the beginning of a new life!”
This page indicates that gray whales tend to give birth off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California, as their protected lagoons provide safety from predators such as killer whales, as well as warm water for The young have not yet formed a thick layer of fat. Every year, gray whales migrate along the west coast of the United States, a round trip of more than 10,000 miles—one of the longest migrations of any mammal.
Check out the video below.
