Humpback Whale Season in Monterey Bay

Humpback Whale Season Is upon Us…Are You Ready?

Excitement builds as we enter humpback whale season! Monterey Bay is on the path of the humpback whale migration path with a season running typically from April through October, and even into December if the water stays warm. Humpbacks are total showoffs, and we love it! They are acrobats with their breaching, pectoral fin slapping, tail slapping, lunge feeding and more.

Humpbacks, are a baleen whale as you may have learned in our video on Baleen vs. Toothed whales, feeding on tiny shrimp-like krill, plankton, and small fish. It’s sometimes hard to believe their diet seems so small when humpbacks actually weigh about 40 tons!! Humpbacks feed only in the summer, which is why they are often found in Monterey Bay near the Monterey Bay Submarine Canyon and its rich abundance of krill, it’s literally a smorgasbord. If we’re lucky, we may even see their bubble net feeding technique.

Migrating up to 16,000 miles each year, means we see these amazing whales for an extended period of time. Come see these beautiful, graceful whales in their natural habitat!