Gray Whale Mother and Baby Visit Oceanside - VIDEO

OCEANSIDE, CA — As the Gray Whale Season gets into full swing the ocean off the Oceanside shore has been brimming with action. Over the weekend passengers aboard an Oceanside Adventures whale-watching cruise had an incredible sighting of multiple mother and calf gray whale pairs. On one of the early encounters, they saw this mom gray whale (see video below) repeatedly put her whale calf on her back. Baby gray whales often hitch a ride on mom because they’re learning how to swim and it's likely as fun as any kid getting a piggyback ride. The baby whale kept trying to stay afloat and then mom comes alongside the calf and pushes it to the surface. The bond between the mother Gray whale and baby is so special and a rare privilege that we get to witness here in Oceanside and along the Southern California coast.

Captain Chris Fairbanks came upon the pair just 5 miles from the mouth of the Oceanside Harbor and they followed them to the Oceanside pier, he said it was the longest duration he has spent with a mom and calf pair and that mom seemed so relaxed just nudging her baby along. He estimated the baby whale was just a few days old as the fetal folds were still visible.

All the passengers were thrilled to spend so much time with the whales while enjoying our historic Oceanside coastline. With whale watching season at its peak now is the best time to come out and catch a glimpse of this amazing display of mother nature and marine life!

Video and photo were taken by drone pilot Mark Newman.

How much do you know about gray whales?

The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus ), also known as the grey whale, gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9 meters (49 ft), a weight of up to 41 tonnes (90,000 lb) and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be 75–80 years of age. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole living species in the genus Eschrichtius. It was formerly thought to be the sole living genus in the family.

Oceanside Adventures offers year-round whale and dolphin tours. Currently, the gray whales are migrating from December through April. We also see Fin whales and minke whales year-round. In summertime, we see the humpbacks and blue whales and we have 4 species of dolphins, so there is always something to see no matter what time of the year you go.888-507-1130OceansideWhaleWatching.com