Imagine being out in the open water, swimming and floating lazily in the California sun.
Then, all of a sudden, you see a big gray sea creature coming towards you!
A shark, and getting out of the water, would be most people’s first thoughts.
But what if it wasn’t a shark? What if instead, it was a giant baby gray whale?
You might still be scared, but you’d also probably be intrigued and not as worried about getting away from it.
That is exactly what happened to Laguna Beach goers off the coast of California.
While playing in the kids area of the Montage Resort’s stretch of coastline, a few people were startled to look over and see a great hulking figure swimming around them.
The whale, who has been nicknamed ‘Carly’, was doing a little hunting before making the long journey back to the Bering Sea where the whales spend about half of the year.
Carly the gray whale is still just a baby and it is unknown how she got separated from her family.
They spend around half the year in Alaskan waters of the Bering Sea to hunt and feed.
After that they migrate south to the warmer waters around the California coastline to protected lagoons where they give birth and raise their calves.
Somehow, Carly needs to make her way back up North all alone before she can reconnect with her pod.
Deciding to go into shallower waters to find some food, she swam right up near the coastline where she surprised many vacationers.
12-year-old Nathan Good, who was on a whale watching boat with other junior guards, said he thought the whale might get stuck.
“It was right in the kid’s swim area, and it looked like it was going to get stuck.”
He said the the captain of the boat he was on sailed over so they could all get a closer look, “It was awesome!” he said, “It was a baby and it was cute.”
The captain of the Nathan’s boat said that the whale looks healthy, but a little skinny, which is probably why she risked swimming so close to the shore.
While Carly is only about 18 feet, many adult gray whales can get up to 45 feet long and weigh in at around 30 to 40 tons.
Gray whales are have recently been removed from the endangered species list with their population raising from around 2,000 to around 20,000.
They are known to be curious and inquisitive animals and, because of this, they are known as being quite friendly.
Always remember though, they are still a wild animal and, while they are beautiful and majestic to look at, they should be left alone.
There are many ‘whale-friendly’ tours that can be taken so that you can see the animals without disturbing their natural habitats.
Nathan Good was on ‘Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari’ where the captain, aptly named Dave, prides himself on being respectful of the animals above all else.
Check out the giant baby swimming in the video linked below.
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