A video is going viral this week that shows the magical moment that happened between a giant gray whale calf and a man out in the middle of the ocean.

“Tens of thousands of whales are killed or injured every year as a direct or indirect result of human activities. The health of ocean ecosystems is tied directly to the health of whales,” Ocean Alliance stated. “If we continue to lose whales, the results will be disastrous not just for the oceans, but for our entire planet.”

The Ocean Alliance was eager to find out more about whales without getting close enough to hurt them, so they invented the Snotbot.

“Snotbots are custom-built drones created in partnership between Ocean Alliance and Olin College of Engineering,” Ocean Alliance explained. “They hover in the air above a surfacing whale and collect the blow (or snot) exhaled from its lungs. Snotbot then returns that sample back to researchers a significant distance away.”

Christian Miller was recently in San Ignacio Lagoon, Mexico on a Snotbot expedition when he met a very curious gray whale calf and her mother. As her mother swam with her, the calf popped her head out of the water and got closer and closer to Christian’s boat. It was as if she was asking for Christian to pet her, and finally, she was close enough for him to do just that!

The mother looked on from a safe distance, but she let Christian pet her baby’s chin and underside before splashing her playfully. Once the playtime was over, the mother and the calf went back to their underwater journey. The video makes it clear just how gentle the calf is, and shows exactly why whales need to be protected at all costs. Check out the magical moment for yourself below!