The warm, blue waters of Mexico's Laguna San Ignacio host one of four nurseries where gray whales mate, give birth and nurse their young at the southern end of their 6,000-mile one-way migratory route that stretches north along Baja California, the U.S. and Canada toward the cold, rich seas off Alaska.

My last column discussed the campaign that lead to the Mexican government's decision to protect the lagoon. Pachico Mayoral, who runs a whale-watching operation there, has reported a rapid decline in their population, telling Sue Arnold of the California Gray Whale Coalition that this season was the worst he's seen in 30 years. Reports indicate that while 137 mother and calf pairs were observed at the lagoon in 1984, 15 to 20 were seen this year.

Gray whales are known as specialist feeders, and their food depends on sea ice in the Bering and Chukchi seas, which is reportedly declining because of rising temperatures. Their prey, amphipod macrocephela, needs very cold water to survive.

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