Springtime in the Lagoon: A Big School By Carolina, Guide at Baja Ecotours San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico Photo Keith Jones Spring has arrived here in San Ignacio Lagoon. The temperature has finally warmed up to the 80’s F in the afternoons, but evenings and mornings are still chilly. Sometimes the nights are calm and we can hear the whales breathing, right along with the coyotes yelping! The lagoon is now like a big nursery-elementary-middle school. (I think the calves "graduate high school" when the moms get them up to the feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.) Springtime Behaviors We have observed every behavior on our trips out on the water. Here's what's happening: Snack Practice Many books still say the grays don’t feed on the migration or in the lagoons. Well, they do — but it's more like snacking than the feasting that goes on in the Arctic. We see the moms teaching the babies how to suck up a mouthful of the bottom of the lagoon, just as they'll do in the cold northern feeding waters. The lagoon is very shallow in many places, and we see whales on their side, with pectoral fin and tail fluke above the water. Then they roll up and we see the mud circles on top of the water when their large tongues push the water and sediment out through their baleen so they can swallow the crustaceans and critters left behind in their mouths. Whales at Play Much of the literature also says the gray whales don’t socialize. I think they dp, but in ways we don’t recognize as socializing. Besides, we are only seeing a small portion of the whales' lives above the water. A really exciting thing was observing the calves in tight groups for about a week, with their moms — all playing with one another! I call it play because they were swimming together, rolling over each other, doing headstands and cartwheels over each other, and touching each other. It was awesome to watch! Whales at Rest Whales, dolphins, and porpoises can’t fully fall sleep or they would drown. So they have adapted by resting one hemisphere (one half) of their brain at a time. Too cool! One day we drove the boat very slowly up to a resting adult female. We quietly reached over to touch her. She appeared to rest the entire time we touched and rubbed her, staying at the surface and taking a shallow breath every now and then. Spring Training Before Migration Lately, it seems as though the whales have been practicing endurance swimming. They are getting ready for the big trip and the big oceans! They are swimming against the extreme tides that came with the waning moon. I am frequently asked about behavior patterns I have observed in my years here. The only one I can say with certainty is that whichever way the tide- current is running, most of the whales will usually be swimming against it. Serious swimming practice has been taking place. Newborn Whale Photo Linda Lewis Whale Kisses and More The calves are bigger now and the moms seem relaxed. Some enjoy the touch of tourists as much as the babies do, so we have been interacting on every recent boat trip! We have even been kissing the whales and checking out their baleen! I have noticed younger, maybe first-time moms who sometimes seeking more attention than their babies! I think they must have been touched as calves, because they are right at the boats getting the massages. We still get whales gently bumping the boat. Sometimes we even get lifted and moved about, so we are ‘whale riding’ too! Saving the Nursery Lagoons This really is a sacred, wild place, and I am grateful the newly formed Laguna San Ignacio Conservation Alliance has been able to buy conservation easements of 120,000 acres, on the south side of the lagoon. The goal is to raise $10 million to conserve 1 million acres. Try This! Journaling Question What would you say to someone who believes high-rise hotels, oil and gas drilling, or a big salt production facility should be built in this lagoon? This Season Teachers Kids Orientation Registration Search Copyright 1997-2008 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Contact us.