Save the Whales: A Legacy Worth Protecting

Just sitting here listening to the largest animal in the world. Let's take a look. See if I can get a look behind us. There we go. There's at least six blue whales just circling this area right now. We've got some really cool footage. They're playing with some dolphins. Which way was that? The largest animal on earth going out of its way to look at us. The absolute pinnacle of whale watching. This is San Diego, California. The birthplace of modern whale watching. Here you can encounter a wide variety of dolphins and whales each and every day all year long. The usual suspects include blue whales, humpback whales, gray whales, thin whales, and common dolphins by the hundreds or even the thousands. But that's just the regulars. There's many other species we encounter as well. In total, I've seen 19 different species of dolphin and whale in San Diego. And those species include minky whales, Cuvier's beaked whales, the deepest diving animal on earth, the Brutus whale, a tropical species, killer whales, they need no introduction, false killer whales, not as well known but just as spectacular, bottlenose dolphins, flipper in the flesh, rezo's dolphins, squid eating specialists, pacific white-sided dolphin, a migratory species, northern right whale dolphins, an oddly named finless dolphin, and I know it's hard to believe but I even encountered a beluga whale back in 2020. I've also seen a seawhale, a sperm whale, and a pygmy sperm whale out here but didn't manage to capture any footage worth sharing of those. But let's rewind because humanity's relationship with whales didn't always look like this. In the year 1700, American whalers would set out in small wooden boats to hunt whales with rudimentary harpoons. By the early 1900s, the industrial revolution brought on a new era of exploitation as factory ships armed with exploding harpoons decimated whale populations across the globe. By the mid-1900s, whale populations became so reduced that whaling was no longer a viable business. Slowly, the tide of public perception began to turn. Once condemned as mindless leviathans, the great whales emerged in a new light. Nowhere was this change in attitude more profound than in San Diego, California. In 1950, atop the wind-swept cliffs of the Cabo Rio National Monument, history was quietly made. Here, for the first time, thousands gathered to witness the ancient migration of gray whales, the first official land-based whale-watching operation in the world. A few years later, the spectacle took to the sea. From the harbors of San Diego, the first paid whale-watching excursion set sail, charging eager patrons a single dollar for a chance to encounter the giants up close. The gray whale was a natural ambassador for this emerging industry. Known for its near-shore migration, it offered humans an intimate window into a world once hidden beneath the waves. Today, gray whales are an integral part of the California whale-watching industry. But none of this would have been possible without a profound shift in humanity's conscience. In 1986, after a worldwide outpouring, a ban on the commercial hunting of whales was agreed upon by nearly every major nation across the globe. In the United States, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was signed into law. Safeguarding whales, dolphins, sea lions, and more for generations to come. The results were monumental. In the decades that followed, the oceans that were once emptied by greed were now beginning to stir with life once again. Whale populations made a slow but emphatic recovery, heralding a new chapter in our relationship with the world's largest inhabitants. Today, we don't hunt the whales, we admire them. Whale-watching is for everyone. Young or old, a coastal local or a visitor from abroad, there's something about seeing a whale that reaches people on a deeply human level. Out on the water, politics fade. Backgrounds blur. You'll find families, fishermen, scientists, teachers, veterans, school kids, all looking in the same direction. In a time when so much divides us, this is one thing that still unites us. Across the political spectrum, there is near universal agreement. These animals matter. They deserve to survive. They deserve our protection. When we go whale-watching and a whale rises from the depths, no one cheers alone. We cheer together.