It’s Killer Whale season in the Monterey Bay

The Monterey Bay sees it’s share of whales throughout the year, but over the next two months, you have a good chance of seeing one of the most popular.

You’ve probably heard of Shamu. You probably know Willy from the movie Free Willy. Now you can see all their distant cousins in our own backyard.

It’s Killer Whale season in the Monterey Bay! In April through May, the bay sees a huge uptick in Orca sightings, and tourists are always trying to catch a glimpse. It’s all part of nature’s cycle. Over the next two months, mother Grey Whales and their calves migrate from Mexico up the coast towards Canada, and the Monterey Bay has the perfect geography to act as a hunting grounds. The deep canyons just off our coast allows the Orcas to more easily hunt the calves, so seeing a dozen or more killer whales right now won’t be too uncommon.

“The chance to see them in the wild is really amazing because they’re not here every day. They’re not like humpbacks that are here every day feeding, so you can’t say ‘Oh today I’m gonna see a Killer Whale.’ So it’s more of a challenge. We’ve had people come out with us a lot hoping to see Killer Whales, but the next couple months we might see them several times a week, sometimes we’ve seen them every day for a couple weeks,” said Monterey Bay Whale Watch Marine Biologist Nancy Black.

Orcas are the smartest of the whales, and are incredibly social. Some will even stay with their families their entire lives. So if you’re able to make it out on a whale watching tour, you might see an entire family reunion!

While most whale watching tours are around three-hours long, some companies, like Monterey Bay Whale Watch, will be offering eight and twelve hour tours specifically geared to finding and watching orcas. Remember, they’ll only be here in huge numbers through may, so get out and see them if you can.