The California Gray Whale - Still with Us

Big Whale, Small Boat

Of the extensive California Gray whale calving grounds that lie along the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula, perhaps the most infamous of all is the Laguna Ojo de Liebre, slightly to the south of Guerrero Negro on the Sebastian Vizcaino Bay. This lagoon is also commonly known as Scammon’s Lagoon, named after the whaler from Maine that came perilously close to wiping out the entire species. Charles Melville Scammon, captain of the brig Boston, sailed into the lagoon in 1857 in search of whale baleen and blubber, the oil of which an entire American whaling industry depended upon for its profits. He undertook the voyage on the basis of nothing more than a rumor; he had heard there might be a large population of Gray whales there, only to discover himself in the middle of a massive whale nursery. Many hundreds of white-splotched female gray whales and their calves swam about. The whaling boats were duly lowered, and two cows were quickly killed. Interestingly, the next time the boats were lowered the whales fought back, thrashing their massive flukes and destroying two boats in quick succession, the bodies of the hapless whalers flung doll-like in all directions. The ferocity of the creatures caused considerable trepidation to Scammon’s remaining crews, so much so, the next time a boat approached a whale, the men panicked and jumped into the water. Whalers, although called 'men of iron' for good reason, were perhaps not the brightest candles in the chandelier.

Whales one, Scammon zero; unfortunately, events then take a decidedly ominous turn for the whales. Rethinking his plan, Scammon happened to have a shipboard store of ‘bomb lances’, harpoons that carried small warheads with a time delay fuse. When fired into the flanks of the whale, the device would penetrate and explode, instantly killing the animal. Success thus assured, Scammon positioned his boats in shallow waters alongside the deeper channels that the whales swam through on their way to and from the ocean, picking off the creatures rapidly and with relative ease.

 It wasn’t long before word of easy takings spread rapidly amongst the greater Pacific whaling community, and lagoon whaling became the new industry of choice up and down the Baja calving grounds. Within just a few short seasons, the California Gray whale had been pushed to the very brink of extinction.

Gray whale blow

Today, the story is a happier one. The protection of the Gray whale in these lagoons has caused their numbers to rebound to such an extent that in 1994, the animal was removed from the endangered species list. Tourists frequent the lagoons during calving season in small boats with experienced guides, some individual whales now so used to human contact as to approach the boats and allow themselves to be petted. One over-enthusiastic tourist was recently reported to have fallen out of the boat and onto a curious  whale. The whale then waited patiently while the woman stood up on the animal's back and reboarded her boat.

Their potential ferocity not to be forgotten,  guides are ever watchful for nervous mothers, holding their massive tails above the water as a warning not to approach any closer.

Entrance to Scammon's Lagoon