Excited whale watchers reaching out to touch a California Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in San Ignacio Lagoon on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja Peninsula, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Each winter thousands of California gray whales migrate from the Bering and Chukchi seas to breed and calf in the warm water lagoons of Baja California. San Ignacio lagoon is the smallest of the three major such lagoons. Current (2008) population estimates put the California Gray whale at between 20,000 and 24,000 animals.

Credit to: Blue Planet Archive / Michael S. Nolan

Image dimensions: 3600x5400