NatGeo's Incredible Animal Journeys Answers The Question: How Do Baby Whales Sleep?

As the end of year holidays approach, millions of humans set off on long journeys to visit their loved ones. And sure, a long road trip or plane ride with little ones is tough, but it could always be worse. Just ask a whale mama, who will have to swim with a newborn in tow over 3,000 miles from Hawaii to Alaska. Theirs is just one of the many remarkable migrations observed in National Geographic’s Incredible Animal Journeys, and we have an exclusive sneak peek at one that answers that age old question: how do baby whales sleep? (Well, I’ve always wondered…)

Every year, millions of animals migrate across our world using routes passed down through generations and millennia. These journeys are remarkable in and of themselves, but also leave an indelible mark on the world around them and keep our delicate planet in balance. Narrated by Jeremy Renner, National Geographic’s series Incredible Animal Journeys takes a stunning look at some of the most epic, from massive whales to monarch butterflies.

In “Ocean Odysseys,” we follow a humpback mom leading her newborn calf from the species breeding grounds in Hawaii to their summer feeding grounds off the coast of Alaska. But just like human babies, “tiny” humpbacks (they’re born 10 to 15 feet long and can weigh more than a ton) need to sleep a lot, sometimes more than half the day. But that has us wondering: how do baby whales sleep? Fortunately, this exclusive clip has the answer...

So there you have it: baby whales sleep by snuggling next to their moms so they don’t float away. Someone call Khloé Kardashian, because this might be enough to get her over her fear of whales. How can you be scared of this sweet little baby just snoozing under his mama? Don’t you just want to give him a hug? Honestly, this might just be the cutest turn of events one can find in the natural world, though we look forward to watching Incredible Animal Journeys to see if another creature can step up. (All eyes on you, barn swallows...)

Incredible Animal Journeys premieres Nov. 19 on National Geographic and will be available to stream on Nov. 20 on Disney+ and Hulu.