CBU student lms gray whale giving birth on whale-watching tour

BY IGNACIO DOMINGUEZ STAFF WRITER

Matt Stumpf, senior liberal studies major, captured a rare moment o the coast of Dana Point, Calif. with a lucky group of whale watchers. In the open waters o the California coast, the whale watchers witnessed a gray whale, but not just that — a baby calf appeared on the whale’s back.

Stumpf was working as first mate aboard Capt. Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin and Whale

Watching Safari on Jan. 2. Before departure, Stumpf and the crew had been briefed about a whale nearby.

Something was irregular about this whale; it was traveling along an inconsistent path, making it di cult for the crew to locate and get a glimpse of it before it moved to a di erent location.

“We had two boats there watching this whale — two of our faster boats,” Stumpf said. “They had just got on it, and it was getting really close to them.”

For those aboard, there was a moment of worry and confusion when a pool of blood rose on the waters.

“We see blood in the water, and we’re like, ‘Oh,’” Stumpf said. “At least for me, I was like, ‘Something’s happening.’ Maybe it got hit by a crop. Maybe there’s a predator here that we just don’t know about.”

A few moments later, those on the boat would notice that it was far from a predator; it was a gray whale giving birth to a calf, a scene very unique to the geographic location.

Stacie Fox, a photographer working on the boat that day, knew pregnant gray whales are often in a hurry towards lagoons in Baja California, Mexico, to give birth to their calfs.

“[After seeing blood rise in the water], my immediate thought was like, ‘This is a pregnant female. She’s giving birth. That’s what’s happening,’” Fox said.

Fox’s focus has always been dolphins and whales. For her, this moment was one she never thought she would get to witness.

“[Researchers and scientists] know, in general, they go to the lagoons, but they don’t actually see them give birth or know exactly where they give birth,” Fox said.

Ordinarily, Dana Point does not see the birth of calves. Rather, births occur past Palos Verdes, an area just south of Long Beach.

“It’s just so rare to see,” Stumpf said. “We do see calfs a lot. But to see one be born — that is not something I would ever expect to see.”

Fox described the moment as “a bucket list-type thing.”