The great annual grey whale migration is one of the most extraordinary
migrations of the planet. Their journey beginsin the Artic, and they travel
a distance of over 6,200 miles to reach the southern Baja California lagoons
to perform their reproduction cycle and nurse their calves. They bear their
calves every other year, alternating each year between mating and birthing.
The grey whales are a mammal family of the cetaceous. Their natural color
is black, although at a distance they look grey due to an organism that
sticks to their outer skin, as well as the scars they produce when separating
from the whale's skin. Grey whales eat plankton, amphipodus organisms, and
other very small organisms. Instead of teeth, they have a cornea and an
elastic sheet in which they filter the species to select the size, not bigger
than two and a half inches, since their throat and digestive ducts are very
tight. They have anterior fins and lack a dorsal fin. The lobes of their
tails are flexible and wide, moving them up and down for swimming. An adult
whale measures between 46 and 55 feet and weighs up to 88 tons. A baby whale
size at birth is between 13 and 17 feet long and weighs from 1.6 to 2.2
tons. At the end of lactation (around 6-9 months) they weigh around 17.5
tons. It is said that the whales possess a strong maternal instinct and
that the relation with their offspring is close and sensitive.
The period in which the grey whale arrives in México and can be watched
begins in mid-January and ends generally by the end of March, although it
is not unusual to see some pods through April.
In Baja California Sur there are different zones for whale watching:
Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Guerro Negro, and San Ignacio located within the reserve
of the Vizcaino Biosphere (created Nov. 30, 1988 for its great population
of grey whales and the importance of its flora and fauna in the biological
cycel zone). It is also a shelter for other unique species both migratory
and resident. Other popular sites for whale watching are: The Estero de
la Soledad, Adolfo Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos in Magdalena
Bay (a natural reserve).
The Méxican governments, federal and state, have been concerned with
the maintenance of these reserves, and for the care and protection of the
grey whales and the other species that inhabit these reserves.
Whale watching is a facinating natural show, however, it is a must for everyone to protect them and help to preserve them. The following rules help ensure that this occurs:
Do not bother the normal behaviour of the whales;
Orcas can also be seen in BCS waters.
