The idea that a wild animal would actively seek human touch is unusual; that some of the world’s largest mammals would do so, especially just after giving birth, is almost incomprehensible.
But that’s exactly what happens every winter in Laguna San Ignacio, one of three primary lagoons on Baja’s Pacific coast where pregnant 40-ton gray whales migrate from Alaska to give birth. The extra-salty waters provide a buoyant bed for calves still learning how to swim. A mini–tourism industry of heavily regulated skiffs (the area is a protected UNESCO World Heritage site) blossoms each year to take visitors to meet the whales and their calves, who stop to be petted—and sometimes even kissed. It’s usually a highly emotional moment (for the humans, at least). Just try watching a video of such an encounter at San Ignacio and see if you don’t choke up too.•
This article appears in Issue 26 of Alta Journal.
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