[imagesource: YouTube / Capt Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari]

Being in close proximity to Earth’s ocean giants is a magical experience.

When I was a wee one, my family and I were out on a dinghy boat in Hout Bay harbour and were blessed enough to witness a massive whale swimming right by us. I still struggle to differentiate if that moment was real or a dream.

Guests on board a whale-watching cruise in California are probably still pinching themselves after being privileged enough to see a mommy whale give birth to her calf right next to their boat.

Capt. Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari confirmed that their whale-watching passengers and crew had a “once-in-a-lifetime sighting” off the coast of Dana Strands Beach in Dana Point recently:

“At first, the sighting appeared to be a typical migrating gray whale. As the boat slowly approached the animal, our crew noticed it was behaving sporadically. Passengers and crew saw something orange and red colored in the water that they thought might have been kelp. Instead, a newborn calf came up to the surface!

For a minute, many of us thought it may be a shark or predatory event. But no, instead of the end of life, it was the beginning of a new one!”

Behold:

Getaway reported that Gray whales migrate annually along the US west coast from their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas near Alaska.

“Gray whales prefer to give birth in the warm and protected lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. The lagoons offer safety from predators such as orcas, as well as warm water for calves who have not yet built up a thick layer of blubber”, added the cruise company.

Seeing the newborn whale swimming and bonding with its mother is certainly a memory to hold on to for life.

[source:getaway]