The first Gray Whales of the 2013 Cabo San Lucas whale watching season were spotted by Whale Watch Cabo guide, Elisa yesterday, January 13, 2013! This is an exciting development to the 2013 Cabo San Lucas whale watching season. While we have been enjoying tours with the wonderful Humpback whales for well over a month now, the arrival of the Gray Whales here in Cabo will mean frequent encounters with TWO species of whale on the same tour!
The Gray Whales migrate between the place of their birth here in the Baja, and their summer feeding grounds in the northern Pacific near Alaska. During the migration the pregnant female Gray Whales alter course and enter the protection of the shallow bays encompassed by the Baja. The males and some females (not pregnant) continue down the Baja – as far south as Cabo San Lucas.
These Gray Whales are the only remaining population in the world. Protected in Mexico, the USA and Canada, their population has been increasing since the end of commercial whaling, but it has not yet reached pre-whaling stability or numbers. So getting to see Gray whales is a really wonderful experience, rare and beautiful.
Here in Cabo San Lucas we often find the Gray whales in small groups of 3 to 4 whales. Many times we also find them near the shore as they have a unique feeding strategy. Although they are baleen whales, they actually scoop sand and strain dinner from the substrate! Slower moving than the Humpbacks, the Gray whales are often very inquisitive as well, sometimes checking out the boat in a ‘who is looking at who’ sort of situation.
So all of us at Whale Watch Cabo are excited to see the return of the Gray Whales to Cabo San Lucas. This marks an important development in the 2013 Cabo San Lucas whale watching season. We hope you will soon be joining our whale watching biologist guides, Elisa, Janneke, Alexandra and Peter for some respectful, fun and wondrous whale watching encounters here in Cabo.
