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APRIL 2020 MONTEREY BAY WHALE WATCH MARINE MAMMAL SIGHTINGS LIST

MARINE MAMMAL SIGHTINGS IN THE MONTEREY BAY REGION

Monterey Bay Whale Watch
List of Marine Mammal Sightings
in the Monterey Bay Region

April 2020
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Note — This list includes reported sightings from Monterey Bay Whale Watch trips. Unusual sightings of other marine animals such as Leatherback Sea Turtles and Basking Sharks are also listed, in addition to unusual seabirds such as Albatross and Brown Boobies. California Sea Lions are mentioned only if numbers or behavior are of interest. Harbor Seals and Southern Sea Otters, which are seen on all whale watching trips, are not included in the list.

There were no regularly scheduled whale watching trips in April, due to sheltering in place. All sightings in April were on Survey Days – Our biologists monitor and count species. Sightings from Survey Days are highlighted in pale yellow.

These sightings are copyright protected and may not be used without permission from Nancy Black. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of this information is a violation of federal copyright law, and is subject to prosecution to the full extent of the law.

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Date # Type of Animal(s)

4/30 (4 hrs) 46 Humpback Whales
Research 100 Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Survey 50 Risso’s Dolphins

4/27 (6 hrs)
Research
Survey
62 Humpback Whales

4/26 (4 hrs)
Research
Survey
(poor weather)
7 Humpback Whales

4/25 (4 hrs) 7 Humpback Whales
Research
Survey
2 Gray Whales (cow/calf pair)
(poor weather) 7 Killer Whales
100 Risso’s Dolphins

4/24 (6 hrs) 13 Humpback Whales
Research 4 Gray Whales (cow/calf pairs)
Survey 6 Killer Whales
2 Harbor Porpoise

4/22 (8 hrs) 48 Humpback Whales
Research 600 Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Survey 200 Risso’s Dolphins
500 Northern Right Whale Dolphins

4/21 (4 hrs)
Research
Survey
14 Humpback Whales

4/20 (10 hrs) 10 Humpback Whales
Research 7 Killer Whales
Survey 800 Pacific White-sided Dolphins
500 Northern Right Whale Dolphins

4/19 (12 hrs) 71 Humpback Whales
Research 2000 Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Survey 200 Risso’s Dolphins

4/18 (12 hrs) 4 Humpback Whales
Research 3 Killer Whales
Survey 1 Minke Whale

4/17 (7 hrs)
Research
Survey
34 Humpback Whales

4/16 (12 hrs) 14 Humpback Whales
Research 21 Killer Whales
Survey 1000 Pacific White-sided Dolphins

4/15 (12 hrs) 27 Humpback Whales
Research 2 Gray Whales
Survey 11 Killer Whales (predation on Gray whale calf)

4/14 (12 hrs) 13 Humpback Whales
Research
Survey
35 Killer Whales

4/13 (12 hrs) 58 Humpback Whales
Research 2 Gray Whales
Survey 35 Killer Whales (predation on Gray whale calf)

4/12 (6 hrs) 26 Humpback Whales
Research
Survey
7 Harbor Porpoise

4/11 (10 hrs) 6 Humpback Whales
Research 12 Killer Whales (feeding on Gray whale from April 10 predation event)
Survey 400 Risso’s Dolphins

4/10 (10 hrs) 13 Humpback Whales
Research
Survey
16 Killer Whales (predation on Gray Whale with one Humpback Whale
protecting the Gray Whales for a bit while the calf was alive
with the mom, then back again later during the feeding event)
150 Pacific White-sided Dolphins
450 Risso’s Dolphins
1 Harbor Porpoise

4/8 (6 hrs)
Research
Survey
4 Humpback Whales

4/7 (6 hrs) 12 Humpback Whales
Research
Survey
4 Killer Whales

4/4 (6 hrs) 6 Gray Whales
Research 19 Humpback Whales
Survey 2000 Pacific White-sided Dolphins
600 Risso’s Dolphins
400 Northern Right Whale Dolphins
Feeding aggregation of Humpbacks and Pacific White-sided Dolphins
spread over a few miles.
Mixed species group of Risso’s, Northern Right Whale Dolphins, and
a few Pacific White-sided Dolphins.

All photos © 2020 Daniel Bianchetta

Humpback Whales and California Sea Lions photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Humpback Whales and California Sea Lions
(April 22, 2020)

Humpback Whale tail throw photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Humpback Whale tail throw (April 22, 2020)

Spyhopping Killer Whale photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Spyhopping Killer Whale (April 20, 2020)

Northern Right Whale Dolphin photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Northern Right Whale Dolphin (April 20, 2020)

Humpback Whales lunge-feeding photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Humpback Whales lunge-feeding (April 19, 2020)

Female and male Killer Whales photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Female (left) and male Killer Whales (April 15, 2020)

Black-footed Albatross and Laysan Albatross photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Black-footed Albatross and Laysan Albatross
(April 15, 2020)

Spyhopping young Killer Whale and mom photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Spyhopping young Killer Whale and mom
(April 15, 2020)

Breaching Risso's Dolphin photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Breaching Risso’s Dolphin (April 11, 2020)

Breaching Pacific White-sided Dolphin photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Breaching Pacific White-sided Dolphin (April 4, 2020)

Humpback Whale tail - good ID shot photo by Daniel Bianchetta
Humpback Whale tail – good ID shot (April 4, 2020)

All photos © 2020 Daniel Bianchetta

Copyright © 2020 Monterey Bay Whale Watch, LLC. No use of the sightings information is permitted without prior approval.

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