News from Observation Post #3 Laguna Ojo de Libre, Baja California, Mexico Here's the latest from Keith "Baja" Jones at the lagoon: February 17, 2009 Hola amigos Y amigas: I made my first trip of the 2009 Baja Gray Whale season over the President’s Holiday Weekend. Laguna Ojo de Liebre is much the same as always:a little windy, very salty, and full of jumping, diving and spyhopping gray whales. On February 15, our second day of whale watching, the wind stopped and we had a perfect day. On the second trip out on the water our group encountered some really friendly whales. A mother and baby whale stayed near our boat for an hour. Everyone on the boat had the chance to pet this large mother whale. By mid February the baby whales have grown large enough and strong enough to Jump clear of the water. On February 14th, the wind was blowing and few whales were jumping or spy hopping. But on the 15th, with the calm air came calm water, and all the whales got really active. The group even saw a mother and baby jumping together. This is extremely rare to see. Mother whales seldom jump inside the lagoons. Can you think of reasons to explain that? Most jumping whales that we see are juveniles or babies. Sometimes a mating whale might jump too. That day there were whales jumping everywhere! How do you think whales learn to do that?     Laguna Ojo de Libre, Baja California (28.90N, -113.00W)