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A Baby Whale in the Marina!
Steve Zable

Photo Steve Zabel
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I am an ocean kayaker and I see the grays every so often this time of the year. Last season I kayaked right next to a mom and her calf about a quarter mile from shore.

This year I haven't yet seen any out at sea, but—of all places—I saw a baby whale in the Dana Point Marina! (Dana Point is between Laguna Beach and San Clemente, about 60 miles North of San Diego, California.) The baby gray came into the marina at high tide. It was between 12 and 15 feet long. You can see the knuckles on her back. Gray whales have no dorsal or back fin. Instead, they have a low hump and a series of six to twelve knuckles or bumps.

By the next morning it had returned to open waters. The pictures were taken in low light, at dusk. I shot the photos no more than 30 feet from the calf from a sidewalk next to the Ocean Institute, where I am a volunteer in the husbandry department.

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