Petting a whale from a boat is an amazing experience -- I did this 23 years ago in Ojo de Liebre. The mother Gray Whales would push their calves up to the boats

Petting a whale from a boat is an amazing experience -- I did this 23 years ago in Ojo de Liebre. The mother Gray Whales would push their calves up to the boats so that they could receive some petting on the nose. There was no material reward for doing so -- they didn't get food or anything. I got the distinct impression that they understood that having an emotional bond with humans was important, and that they were doing it for that reason. Gotta say that it worked.