Watch Gray Whale Mother, Newborn Calf Snuggle Off Dana Point

DANA POINT, CA — Few things may be more glorious than the sight of gray whales swimming together. A mother and baby were caught on camera last week by Grayden Fanning of Capt. Dave's Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari.

While whale watchers delighted at the sight firsthand, the video gives others the chance to watch and enjoy this intimate moment.

The baby whale is learning how to swim.

Whales are mammals. They must surface to breathe, taking air through their blowhole, as you can see the baby doing in the above video.

Swimming when you're a little whale is hard work.

Watch how the mother, also known as a "cow" whale, allows her little tyke to rest on her fluke — or tail fin — in piggy-back style. This image brings to mind a mother resting her child's hand inside her own.

It even looks as if the pair are cuddling. Then, at last, the mother encourages the baby to swim at her side and continue the lesson.

According to Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's, the mother and baby pair is actually common sight this time of year.

"Although many gray whales give birth in the protected lagoons of Baja, it’s not uncommon to see small calves along the migration route," he said.

Indeed, gray whales pass by California in December and January during their southern migration. They will return again in March and April on their way to the north, according to Anderson.

During their migration, 20,000 gray whales relocate from the summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to the winter grounds of the Baja California lagoons, and back again, along the southern California coast.

The whales travel about 12,000 miles round trip to the warm and protected lagoons of Baja to mate and give birth to their calves. Calves are about 15 feet long at birth and will gain over 50 pounds a day feeding on mother's milk.

The whales will spend several weeks in these warmer waters, with new mothers lingering the longest to give the calves time to increase their layer of blubber.

Patch reported one of the first sightings of the majestic creatures in October 2019. With spring on the way, the gray whales will make their way back up the coast with new their calves, giving onlookers another opportunity to catch a glimpse of a fluke or two.