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Breaching |
Whale
Watching
in
Mexico
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Tail Slapping |
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Whale watching is fast
becoming one of the most popular activities in Mexico. Most of us
have seen whales on TV, but it is not until you get up close to
one of these huge creatures in their natural habitat that you can
truly appreciate their size and remarkable grace.
Grey Whales
Each winter hundreds of California Gray Whales
make the long journey from the far north Bering and Chukchi seas
to the calm protected waters of Baja California's Pacific lagoons
to mate and bear their young. The calm waters of Magdalena Bay,
Laguna Ojo de Liebre and Laguna San Ignacio are literally churning
with activity from January till early March. So plentiful are the
whale sightings that it is often difficult to decide where to
look.
It is common to see calves, just days old,
swimming beside their mothers. These "babies" weigh about a ton at
birth and are twelve to fifteen feet long. At this early stage of
life, they will gain an average of one hundred pounds a day. It is
a testimony to the hardiness of the mother whales when you realize
that they have traveled all the way from Alaska to Mexico in order
to give birth and nurse their young. In March they will turn
around for the long return journey.
Blue Whales
The Blue Whale is likely the largest animal ever to have lived on our
planet. Blue have attained lengths of 100 feet and have weighed up to 150
tons. The Sea of Cortez is
located between the Baja Peninsula and Mexico where the gulf is only 75
miles wide and contains some of the most productive waters in the world.
The Sea of Cortez appears to be important to blue whales during the winter
breeding season - some females may even give birth there. Mother and
calf blue whale pairs are regularly sighted in this area from January to
April. While searching for Blue Whales in the
Sea of Cortez you may at times
encounter Humpback, Sperm, Finback, Minke, and occasionally Orcas, along
with schools of dolphin and Pilot whales.
Humpback Whales
Hundreds of Humpback whales spend the winter in the coastal waters along
the tip of Baja California and the mainland of Mexico. These
creatures can be seen here from November through March where they have
chosen to reproduce and where a great number of calves are born. The
Humpback whales may be the most spectacular of all whales, for they love
to breach and show off all 45 feet of length and 40 tons of weight done
in such graceful fashion it seems like an aquatic ballet. They also sing
the most beautiful tonal songs that have inspired numerous stories about
ghosts crews of old ships. |
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Whale Antics |
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Above water whale
antics include:
Spy hops, breaches, fluking, tail slaps and pec
slaps. |
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The Best Whale Watching Locations |
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Whales can be witnessed from
all of the waters in Mexico, but the real whale congregating spots
are the protected bays along the pacific side of Baja California (Gray
Whales), Between the tip of Baja California and
the Banderas Bay area of the Mainland of Mexico (Humpback Whales) and the
Sea of Cortes (Blue Whales). It is estimated that 15,000 whales migrate
to Mexican waters each winter. They come to
Mexico to feed, to meet other whales, and mate. |
Mexico's Baja California Area/td>
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How to Spot a Whale |
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The
Blue and Humpback Whales
are hard to miss. Fully grown females - which are bulkier than the
males - can typically weigh up to 45 tons (more for the larger
Blue Whales) and reach 60 to 80 feet in length. The
Humpback Whale with their 15-foot
flippers, the longest of any whale, have earned the humpback
species the name Megaptera or "great-winged." The term humpback
comes from the hump on the forward part of the dorsal fin and the
way the back flexes upward before they dive.
Orca's (Killer
Whales) are often seen in the many channels, inlets and bays of the Sea of
Cortez.
How
do you spot a whale? Scan the horizon watching for a cloud
of "smoke" that rises 10-20 feet above the the ocean. Be
patent and watch the general area of the "smoke" for a few
minutes. Whales need to breath every seven to fifteen
minutes and the "smoke" is water vapor exhaled from their blow
hole.
The best way to see these magnificent
creatures is from the deck of a small cruise ship whose captain will take
his ship to were the whales are located. If you have an interest in
this type of "Whale Watching"
click here. |
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We can arrange special whale watching packages for your next
Mexico vacation. Call and discuss your Mexico vacation plans
with one of our Mexico specialists and we will customize your
Mexico vacation to maximize your whale watching experience. |
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For more information
regarding
Whale Watching in Mexico
click here
or call:
888-626-0527 (Pacific time) |
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