Tips For Whale And Dolphin Watching
Whale and dolphin watching is a thriving tourist industry, bringing in over $1.25 billion a year and whisking more than 10 million curious travelers around the vast oceans of the world. Whether you're visiting Boston, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Mexico or the Caribbean islands, you can add a whale watching cruise to your itinerary to get a closer look at these amazing animals. In the past, many species of whales had been hunted to near-extinction, but thanks to conservation efforts, they are making a wonderful comeback and the blues were recently removed from the endangered list. Here are some of the whales you might encounter in your research.
The humpback whale is one of the most common creatures spotted when whale watching. There are about 30,000 to 40,000 humpbacks in the wild today, which makes up about 30 to 35% of the overall population. In the summer, they frequent New England, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Iceland, California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Antarctica. In the winter, they migrate to warmer climes like the Dominican Republic's Samana Province, France's Bay of Biscay, Hawaii, Mexico's Puerto Vallarta, Australia and New Zealand, Cape Town, Costa Rica and the Tongan Islands. Humpback whales are especially exciting to see during their breeding season, when up to forty males may gather to court one female with tail-lobbing, breaching several feet in the air, tail-slapping, spy-hopping, peduncle throwing and charging.
Minke whales are the smallest of the baleen whales you'll see on your whale and dolphin watching tour. Minkes spend relatively little time at the surface and dive down for twenty minutes at a time, so they may be hard to spot, but they are curious about boats so they occasionally swim close to sailing vessels. They also travel alone or in pairs, so their appearance is even rarer. Since they were often thrown back to sea when captured because they were "too small," the Minkes number about 800,000 worldwide. You can spot them in the Isle of Mull in Scotland, County Cork in Ireland and Húsavík in Iceland. During the summer months, the minke whale may also swim along the northern Great Barrier Reef of Australia and in Pacific waters around the San Juan Islands of Washington.
When given the choice between whale and dolphin watching, many people actually choose the dolphin watch program. While whales generally keep their distance and spend most time below the surface, dolphins are much more naturally inquisitive about the boats passing by. Often, cruises also offer "swimming with the dolphins" as one of their activities. Tourists might see risso's dolphins, bottle-nosed dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, spinner dolphins or spotted dolphins on their excursion. Popular destinations include Florida, California, Hawaii, the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.
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The Best Places For Massachusetts Whale Watching
Its close proximity to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary makes the Provincetown port the best place for Massachusetts whale watching. Most of the Boston tours spend 45 minutes or so cruising down to whale territory, but visitors to Provincetown can often see the gentle giants breeching from the beach. On your whale watching cruise, you may see humpback, finback, right and minke whales, as well as marine birds, dolphins and sea turtles.
Making The Most Of Whale Watch Cruises
To get the most out of your whale watching experience, choose a tour operator that has onboard naturalists or marine biologists. These whale research experts can explain the whale behaviors to you and point out which species are frolicking in the water. Some larger ships have a guide narrating over a PA system, while smaller ships allow for intimate interaction with your captain.
Top Picks For A Whale Watching Cruise
The worldwide whale watch industry brings in roughly $1.25 billion dollars each year. According to outspoken Canadian animal rights activist Paul Watson, "Back in 1980, whale watching surpassed whaling as an industry.