BEAUTIFUL!!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Whales!
I decided to go whale watching the other day out on the Monterey Bay. I have been waiting for about 4 years for Blue Whales to show up in the bay and they are here and have come in very large numbers. We aren't sure how long they'll be here so I left work early on Tuesday and went out. It was an amazing experience!
I've seen whales before, but never a Blue! They are the largest creature EVER on earth (including dinosaurs) so I have been wanting to see them! We went out and saw around 12 Blues and while watching them on the left side of the boat I saw some Humpbacks breaching off in the distance on the right side. After following a few blues around we went looking for humpbacks and found a very friendly one. The friendly one was probably born this year but was investigating our boat - humpbacks often do this. We also saw two groups of Risso's Dolphins. On the way back in we got to watch the sunset on the water - it was fantastic! :cloud9:
I've now seen 5 species of whales, 5 species of dolphins and 2 species of porpoises. I want to go out again in a couple weeks in hopes to see some more. I am dying to see Pacific White Sided Dolphins (My favorite) and maybe some Northern Right Whale Dolphins. They have also been spotting Minke Whales out in the bay, so I'm hoping to get a good morning trip soon!
Here are a few pics I took and a couple vids! Hope you enjoy!
Risso's Dolphins
![Marine mammal Marine biology Fin Cetacea Dolphin]()
Blue Whale (only about 1/3 of its body)
![Marine mammal Sea Ocean Water Cetacea]()
Humpback Whale
![Wind wave Marine mammal Whale Wave Sea]()
Humpback Fluke
![Water Sea Marine mammal Fin Ocean]()
Sunset on the water
![Sky Horizon Sea Ocean Water]()
More Pics
Video 1
Video 2
I've seen whales before, but never a Blue! They are the largest creature EVER on earth (including dinosaurs) so I have been wanting to see them! We went out and saw around 12 Blues and while watching them on the left side of the boat I saw some Humpbacks breaching off in the distance on the right side. After following a few blues around we went looking for humpbacks and found a very friendly one. The friendly one was probably born this year but was investigating our boat - humpbacks often do this. We also saw two groups of Risso's Dolphins. On the way back in we got to watch the sunset on the water - it was fantastic! :cloud9:
I've now seen 5 species of whales, 5 species of dolphins and 2 species of porpoises. I want to go out again in a couple weeks in hopes to see some more. I am dying to see Pacific White Sided Dolphins (My favorite) and maybe some Northern Right Whale Dolphins. They have also been spotting Minke Whales out in the bay, so I'm hoping to get a good morning trip soon!
Here are a few pics I took and a couple vids! Hope you enjoy!
Risso's Dolphins
Blue Whale (only about 1/3 of its body)
Humpback Whale
Humpback Fluke
Sunset on the water
More Pics
Video 1
Video 2
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It was awesome to have a humpback come right up to us and have the blues so close too! My first time seeing whales up close was on my research boats for school in 2006. We were off the coast of Mississippi in the gulf, about 150 miles out.
We went out at night so when we woke up we were about 100 miles out. After maybe an hour we spotted the blows and found a sperm whale. I'm at the bow in the black tank. The picture was taken from the lookout on the boat.
This is about 5:30 the next morning. My friend (in the pic) woke me up and I threw on my shoes, glasses and ran to the bow. It was the best alarm clock ever! These are Pantropical Spotted Dolphins. They played in the waves from the boat for about 20 minutes before they took off. It was a very large group of probably 100 or so.
This is that same day. This is a Beaked Whale and is incredibly rare, especially way out in the Gulf. This was the coolest thing I have ever seen, since most people (researchers included) have never seen one.
Marine mammals are just amazing and everyone should see one in the wild. It truly is an incredible experience.
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
