Whale Watching in Cabo
Every year, from January through March, the presence of whales, clearly seen from the shores all around Los Cabos and Cabo San Lucas add excitement to the scenery. Yearly, the blue whale, the grey whale and the hump-back whale undertake the longest known migration of any mammal. They swim from their summer feeding grounds in the rich waters of the Bering Sea in the Artic to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico. Whales come to warmer waters to give birth, then travel to cold waters for feeding. In a gray whale's lifetime of 40 years or more, this repeat journey is equivalent to a return trip to the moon!
The Journey
At least 20,000 grey whales migrate to the Baja Sur beginning in December. Amazingly, the whales begin their journey south from the Artic Circle. Hugging the North American coastline, these mammals swim from their winter breeding grounds in Baja California/Mexico to their summer feeding grounds in the rich waters of the Bering Sea in the Artic and back again. Amazingly, this annual journey totals a distance of 7,452 to 12,420 miles! In recent years, researchers have begun tracking the migration of humpback whales from the Antartic waters to the equator off Columbia and Costa Rica. They spotted one female off the Antartic peninsula and then resighted her five months later off Columbia's coast. This would be a journey of over 5,000 miles!
Identifying Whales Around Cabo
The tell-tail spray of water shooting through a whale's
blowhole can clearly be spotted from the shores all around Cabo San Lucas anytime
from January through the end of March. The bet way to whale watch is to constantly
scan the ocean for signs of blowhole sprays. When the whales are on the surface
it is quite easy to observe them breaching, rolling and socializing with two
or threee other whales.
- Baleen Whale: the most popular whale found in the Sea of Cortez and also
the largest of all cetacean whales.
- Gray Whale: easily spotted by its mottled gray appearance and narrow, triangular
head. Numerous patches of yellow, orange patches of barnacles or lice.
- Hump-back Whale: can easily be identified by their stocky bodies with obvious
humps and black upper parts.
The tail flukes, which are lifted high in the dive sequence, have wavy rear
edges.
Best Whale Watching Spots
- Ojo de Liebre Lagoon
- San Ignacio Lagoon
- Magdalena Bay
Best Time of Year
January through April.
Favorite Breeding Grounds
Whales have favorite breeding grounds! In the early winter, they will move south to the warm, shallow lagoons along the Mexican coast. The most popular breeding lagoons are located on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico:
- San Ignacio
- Scammon's lagoon
- Magdalena Bay
If you have ever seen a whale spy-hopping, where the whale sticks his or her head out of the water for a look around, or breaching, where the whale propels much of the body out of the water over and over again, you might just become a seasoned whale watcher! There are numerous trips available for whale watching.
For accommodations and bookings, please call us: 800.364.9301
