Up close and personal on the whale-watching trip of a lifetime: Tourists get so close to a mother and her calves they can PET them
- Two grey whale calves were encouraged by their mum to swim up to tourists visiting Baja California in Mexico
- The lucky visitors were able to stroke the 14ft new born whales on a trip to the San Ignacio Lagoon
- Wildlife photographer and zoologist Mark Carwardine captured the shots when he visited the area in March
They needed a little encouragement from mum. But it didn’t take long for this pair of grey whale calves, intrigued by a boat of tourists, to go and take a closer look.
And they certainly put on a show for their guests.
Urged on by their mother, the calves confidently went up to within touching distance of the tour group in San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California, Mexico.
Looming almost vertically like big lumps of rock in the middle of the lagoon, the 14ft youngsters put on a display that the enthralled holidaymakers were lucky to capture on camera.
The lagoon is one of four in the area where grey whales, which can reach up to 50ft long and weigh 40 tons, come to mate, play and socialise.
Around 200 grey whales make an annual 10,000-mile journey over three months from the chillier waters of Alaska, where they live in the Bering Strait between Russia and the US, to the beautiful coastal lagoons on the western coast of Mexico.
It is thought the whales like the shallower coastal waters because it offers protection from pods of killer whales.
Mark Carwardine, the wildlife photographer and zoologist, took these shots on a visit to the area in March. One image clearly shows the impressive white baleen plates – the bony teeth-like bristles that filter seawater for tiny crustaceans.
Grey whales, which can live for up to 70 years, were hunted to near extinction between the 17th and early 20th centuries for their oil.
Fortunately for the mammals they are now a protected species, hunting them is illegal, and numbers have recovered to around 20,000.
Their blubber is up to ten inches thick. Unusually, the whale has not one but two blowholes, and unlike many other whales has no dorsal fin but instead has a dorsal hump.
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A grey whale splashes about in the water next to a boat filled with tourists in Baja California, Mexico
Mark Carwardine, the wildlife photographer and zoologist, took these stunning shots on a visit to the area in March
Urged on by their mother, the small calves confidently went up to the tour group who were visiting San Ignacio Lagoon
The lagoon is one of four in the area where grey whales, which can reach up to 50ft long and weigh 40 tons, come to mate, play and socialise
The 14ft youngsters put on a display that the enthralled holidaymakers were lucky to capture on camera
Around 200 grey whales make an annual 10,000-mile journey over three months from the chillier waters of Alaska to the beautiful coastal lagoons on the western coast of Mexico
The animals, who can live for up to 70 years, were hunted to near extinction between the 17th and early 20th centuries for their oil
The two whales splashed around the boat and swam towards it to let the tourists pet and stroke them on their visit to the San Ignacio Lagoon
Tourists visiting the lagoon in Baja California, Mexico were enthralled by the two calves who swam up to the boat and let the visitors pet them
The tourists were able to reach out of the boat and touch the baby whales after they were encouraged to approach the group by their mother
Unusually, the whale has two blowholes, and unlike many other whales has no dorsal fin but instead has a dorsal hump
This image clearly shows the impressive white baleen plates – the bony teeth-like bristles that filter seawater for tiny crustaceans
This adorable moment was captured by zoologist and wildlife photographer, Mark Carwardine on his visit to the area in March
The mammals are now a protected species, hunting them is illegal, and numbers have recovered to around 20,000
Tourists stroke a breaching grey whale. It is thought the whales like the shallower coastal waters because it offers protection from pods of killer whales
Tourists used a broom to pet a grey whale calf after two of the mammals swam up to their boat in San Ignacio Lagoon
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