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[U.S.] cameras have captured an extremely rare gray whale childbirth, perhaps for the first time in history

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A group of lucky whale watchers recently saw the gray whale difference off the coast of California. This is quite possibly the first time a camera has captured such an incredible sight

[U.S.] cameras have captured an extremely rare gray whale childbirth, perhaps for the first time in history

Newborn gray whales swim next to their mothers. Both animals appear unaffected by watching the vessel

Photo courtesy of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari

A lucky whale watching team in Southern California got up close and personal with one of nature's rarest and most miraculous sights: the birth of a gray whale cub. Experts say a "once-in-a-lifetime" video or the birth process of the species is being recorded for the first time.

On Jan. 2, travelers traveling on several boats organized by Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Watching Safarii (DWWS) witnessed the rare sight at a location a few miles off the coast of Dana Point in Orange Township, a DWWS spokesperson wrote on his Facebook account. The team initially saw a lone female at a distance of 12.2 meters/40 to 15.2 meters/50 miles. Soon after, the female swam occasionally, followed by a small cloud of blood floating on the surface. Worried tourists fear this is evidence of a shark attack until a baby whale swims to the surface and takes its first breath of air.

DWWS's YouTube account uploaded a video of mothers and cubs, showing mothers following their newborn offspring, occasionally nudging the calf to the surface to rest on their faces. The pup, about 4.5 m/15 ft long, is darker than its mother and apparently has an unusually flexible stomach that makes swimming difficult.

"So soft," one whalewatcher said in the video.

The proud mother is more than willing to show the wrong cubs to the crowded boats. At one point, two whales even swam at the bottom of a cruise ship, which was slightly raised by the mother whale, a DWWS spokesperson wrote on the YouTube video platform.

It's a "once-in-a-lifetime sight," they added.

[U.S.] cameras have captured an extremely rare gray whale childbirth, perhaps for the first time in history

Mother gray whales pass through blood stains on the surface of the water

Photo courtesy of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari

Juveniles look rather "floggy" because gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are born with soft tails and take 24 hours to become hard, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a marine biologist who studies the killer whale program in California with high NPR. "The mother holds the cub so that the baby whale can rest, in fact, [is] helping it breathe," added Schulman-Janiger, Los Angeles division of the American Cetacean Society's gray whale survey and behavior program.

Schulman-Janiger believes that keeping the two in close proximity while swimming helps create a bond that is critical to the cub's survival. Typically, land mammals strengthen the mother-newborn relationship by breathing each other's temperatures, but whales don't have a good sense of taste, she told NPR. In short, whales do have "very sensitive" skin, allowing them to perceive and understand each other. "That's why there's a lot of tactile contact, and it continues," Schulman-Janiger says.

Gray whales usually give birth in the Baja California region, the lagoon of Mexico, which is warmer than the open ocean and can hide from predators such as killer whales. Females are likely to migrate south from colder breeding sites in the Bering Sea near Alaska, or the Chukchi Sea — a journey of about 8,000 kilometers/5,000 miles, DWWS spokespeople wrote on YouTube. Because the pups are born far north , their chances of survival may be lower, but sometimes, because they are fully mature, the young whales simply "can't wait" longer, people added.

[U.S.] cameras have captured an extremely rare gray whale childbirth, perhaps for the first time in history

The mother pushes the cub to the surface to breathe

Photo courtesy of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari

Humans almost never get the chance to witness the birth of gray whales. The new impact may be the only photographic evidence of this elusive moment.

"To my knowledge, no one has photographed the birth of a gray whale," Dave Anderson, owner of DWWS, told Live Science in an email. Schulman-Janiger agrees that it is extremely fortunate to be able to capture such an event.

"In fact, you can see that the pool of blood means that the cub must have been born," she said. "It's not common. Kill the World Bank, I don't know if any other video like this exists. ”

Considering that gray whale populations in the North Pacific are declining, the sight is indeed even more stunning. In 2016, 27,000 individuals swam in the area. But in 2022, the number is expected to be only 16,650. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such changes are due in part to "unusual mortality rates" due to cetaceans stranded on beaches.

Source: Harry Baker

[U.S.] cameras have captured an extremely rare gray whale childbirth, perhaps for the first time in history

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