VIDEO: Whale gives birth in front of astonished California tourists
A boatload of whale watchers in California were astonished when a huge grey whale gave birth in front of their vessel.
The 35-foot female was seen by the tourists lying on her back near Dana Point, south of Los Angeles, on Monday 2 January 2023 — sparking fears she was injured. Then, the whale suddenly righted, and a baby emerged through a cloud of blood and started swimming around the new mother — much to the delight of onlookers.
Gary Brighouse, the captain of the boat which is operated by Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Safari, commented that the rare sight was “a first for all of us”.
Brighouse, said the outing became “celebratory” after the onlookers realised what they had witnessed.
“The range of emotion couldn’t have been more extreme,” he says in an interview with the Orange County Register. “It went from horror to pure joy and astonishment. It moved me to my core.”
Grey whales typically travel from Alaska to Mexico during the winter, and are sometimes seen in southern California. However, a birth being captured on film is rare.
Celebrating a new year & a new #babywhale! We watched this gray #whale give birth, then the newborn calf learned how to swim & bonded w/ mom. She brought her calf to our boats as if to say hello!
— CaptDavesWhaleWatching (@DolphinSafari) January 3, 2023
(: Matt Stumpf, Stacie Fox, Gary Brighouse 1.2.23)#whalecalf #danapoint #drone pic.twitter.com/TadYgnvny6
“As far as I know, no one has filmed a grey whale giving birth or even seen it before,” Dave Anderson, the owner of Capt. Dave’s, tells the Register.
Shortly after the birth, the calf attempted to come closer to the 24-foot inflatable tour boat.
“We were like, ‘Wait a minute, don’t come too close. That mom wants to protect you,’” says Anderson, adding the cow was much larger than the boat at an estimated 35 feet long. “Mom calmly cruised between the baby and the boat, she rubbed up against our boat, and our boat lifted out of the water, which was a little unsettling.”
Due to poor weather on New Year’s Day, Monday was the whale-watching company’s first day of 2023 with charters back on the water. Fox called the calf their “little new year baby whale.”
We can’t get enough of the newborn calf!
— CaptDavesWhaleWatching (@DolphinSafari) January 4, 2023In this previously unshared footage, the #whale calf swims in circles w/ mom in tow. The little one still hadn’t mastered how to use its flukes for propulsion. It’s learning quickly!
(: Matt Stumpf 1.2.23)#danapoint #dronevideo pic.twitter.com/Q2cMZMrUBQ
As of 2018, the IUCN regards the grey whale as being of least concern from a conservation perspective. However, the specific subpopulation in the northwest Pacific is regarded as being critically endangered.
Last year, MIN reported on a study that concludes ship strikes could be responsible for falling populations of endangered marine species.
In September, the world’s largest container line, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, said it will voluntarily re-route its vessels past Sri Lanka, in a bid to protect the blue whales and other cetaceans living and feeding in the waters off the coast.
