Outstanding first whale trip to Ojo de Liebre!!!!

Here is a trip report of our first whale adventure this season starring Cola Loca!



scroll down for the rest of the story...sorry for the posting problems...it seems the new software doesnt like punctuation!



[Edited on 1-11-2015 by shari]

As always Whale Magics first trip of the season was an unforgettable one. It was a flat calm day and upon our arrival to the edge of the lagoon I could already see that there were more whales than I had ever seen so early in the year right in front of the Interpretive Center.





After the warm welcome by the Ojo de Liebre staff we excitedly buckled up our life jackets and headed down to the dock. This was an especially meaningful trip for me as our first group consisted of my brother and sister in law, 2 very special friends and three enthusiastic guests. Walking down to the dock we saw a dead calf on the beach that made us a bit sad but every year there are a few babies and the odd mother that dont make it providing food for the birds and coyotes.We were all giddy with anticipation as we boarded the panga with my old friend Flaco at the helm. It was bound to be a great adventure!



Within 3 minutes of leaving the dock both Flaco and I spotted a commotion with lots of splashing and tail flinging so we headed straight for that. There was so much going on in a group of whales it was hard to determine just what was happening. There were 2 mothers with calves but there was an extra calf that was exhibiting very strange behavior.



This calf was throwing its tail up in the air and thrashing around in the water. I thought it was just an energetic little boy but on closer observation, this poor thing had a paralyzed tail. Its flukes were just hanging limp and it had no control over them. It seemed in a panic and swam around and around the other whales and our panga. One mother and calf disappeared and the distressed calf stuck close to the other very large adult mom.





I thought that the mother had adopted the poor little incapacitated

I thought that the mother had adopted the poor little incapacitated orphan and was having a hard time controlling it and thought boy she is going to have a hard 3 months with these 2 babies to feed. We named this calf Cola Loca meaning crazy tail as it flung that tail every which way. I think it was trying to get down to nurse on the mom but couldnt without the use of the tail flukes. The mother wouldnt stay still long enough for the calf to nurse and swam frantically around and under us.



The mothers calf was trying to climb on top of its mom to get out of the way of the thrashing baby. She tried to keep the calves on different sides of her perhaps to protect her baby from the deviant.



On one pass right close to the boat the mother pushed the calf right into our boat jostling us around a bit and bumping my sister in law Janes GoPro camera that she had in the water. The video of this trip will be very interesting.

We called over another boat and when it arrived on the scene while Cola Loca was playing with us the other mother and calf took advantage of the diversion and pretended to go over to the other panga but just disappeared abandoning the poor orphan. I think the mother planned to dump that calf on us the whole time.

So Cola Loca stayed with us and wondered if maybe we would adopt it. We felt sorry for the calf being abandoned but there was nothing we could do for it so continued on our whale watch.



We saw some other normal cow and calf pairs that were swimming their babies against the tide in order to strengthen their fins. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere appeared a single adult that swam under us and lifted the boat up into the air. Most of us were thrown onto the floor and we remained crouched down holding on tight to the boat and each other as the boat slid down her side. Luckily she didnt bump us off but let us slide down but it certainly was an exciting moment.

Upon reflection I wonder if we didnt have some essence of the orphan calf on our panga and this was its mother looking for it. Maybe she thought we hit the calf. It is exceedingly rare for a whale to be aggressive to a boat unless provoked of course so this might have been the case as it was a solitary animal.

The whale went by us but then turned around and was going to take a second run at us. Maybe she was just playing and was friendly but we all agreed we didnt want to stick around to find out so we escaped with her following us for awhile. The rest of the trip we were a bit uneasy and kept an eye out for solitary whales swimming up to us fast!

One of our guests begged for a nice spy hop where the whale stands upright with its mighty head our of the water and the whales responded by treating us to many majestic tail stands much to the delight of the photographers on board.



It was an action packed trip we will never forget!

The following day we set out with high hopes of seeing Cola Loca again. The ocean was mirror calm and the whales seemed to reflect the still weather and were resting quietly with their babies at their side. We saw many beautiful tails spy hops and nursing behavior and near the end of our trip I spotted some splashing which indeed was Cola Loca.

The calf was heading towards us and we were all so joyful when we saw that the baby had been reunited with its presumed mother and were happily resting together. There was no panic in the calfs movement although it still did not have the use of is tail flukes, it seemed to be swimming easier. I reminded everyone about the whale who had her tail completely cut off and she still swims all the way to Alaska and back to the lagoons every year so the calf could very well survive with its disability giving us hope. I look forward to making friends with Cola Loca over the next few months.

One whale we named Lucy for her redhead caused by a large orange barnacle cluster on her head pushed her calf right up to our boat with her nose. You can see the calf is young from the fetal folds that some barnacles have already adhered to. This whale will most likely be very friendly in the weeks to come.



and you can see why this whale is named Saddle eh! She is easily identifiable and was being courted by a lovely gentleman. maybe next year she will be there with her nw calf.



As it rained a wee bit off and on this lagoon inhabitant was out for a stroll behind the interpretive center.



We stayed at the new hotel Terra Sal in GN which we rather liked as it was clean with big rooms and very quiet as there are sliding glass doors so no door slamming in the mornings. the big parking lot is all paved and they have special dog rooms. They do have some issues like the water regulation in the showers and no bath matsand cold rooms but it is very nice. The breakfast was darn good at the restaurant too and the office staff is very friendly and speak English!



I look forward to our next trip out...why dont you join us for some whale magic!!!

the lagoon is very shallow for the most part but has deeper water in the canals. It is beautiful from the air with all the colours in the canals. It may be 30' in the deeper areas.

Sometimes at low tide a whale has to push a panga out of it's way in order to get by it.

Here is a mom and calf photo I love that shows how some whales have very big "knuckles" or bumps along it's back....like mother like baby eh!



Here is Lucy...the redhead with her baby. The barnacles may be on her back as a result of a ship strike as barnacles will adhere to any open wounds.



and here is Saddle with her new boyfriend...we waited around to see if they would mate but he was ever so respectful and just stuck by her side...for now.



He had a run in with a killer whale who chewed off some of his tail!



It is a wonderful time of year to visit the lagoon to see all the newborns and some mating activity!

(A.J.) Hey Sheri! Love that awesome tale of the last few days and cool pictures

Shari,
I met that couple in the green and gray sweaters on my way home when I finally found El Jardine motel in San Quintin....didn't come up that they were headed your way....small world sometimes, eh !?.