Dolphins and Porpoises in Monterey Bay

For information and reservations call us at 831.375.5951.

We have regular sightings of several different species of dolphin's and porpoise's in Monterey Bay and so often the passengers say that they are the best part of the trips. Being surrounded by ten, to hundreds, to thousands, of dolphins exhibiting all their various behaviors and activities brings so much delight to every ones trip that very often it is an experience of a life time for them. We are so fortunate to have many different kinds of dolphin and porpoise species and even more lucky to get to see four kinds of them cavorting around in mixed species groups. The Pacific White-sided dolphins, Common dolphin, Risso's dolphin, and the Northern Rightwhale dolphin can be seen in mixed groups or segregated by species.

Pacific-White Sided Dolphin The Pacific White-sided dolphins are absolutely the most Aerial of all the species jumping and flipping head over tail spins in the air when they are really worked up!

The Common dolphins, there here are 2 kinds, short and long beak. They tend to be the most social with our tour boats. These dolphins are often very very "friendly" or "touchy feely" amongst themselves allowing us to even see frequent mating behaviors. They did not get their names common because they are average by any means, they have beautiful color patterns, and exciting behavior displays. They have this name because they are one of the more commonly seen dolphins in the worlds oceans.

Northern Rightwhale dolphins are definitely the most sleek and silky smooth looking dolphins as they rise up and out of the water shooting like bullets because they do not have a dorsal fin on their back. They are really elegant looking and when you see them fly out of the water you are left with a feeling of awe. Their color markings are shinny ebony black with a debonair white streak going down their bellies and have a very pointed head.

The big heavy round robust Rissos dolphin's can weigh up to two thousand lbs. and get to be a length of thirteen and a half feet long. Their body color and markings make them very unique because they are born a cocoa color brown and get lighter and lighter as they age while acquiring increasingly more scratches and scars on their bodies. The oldest animals can look almost pure white and the dorsal fin on their backs will often be tattered, torn, and have whole chunks bitten out of them.

All the dolphins in the Monterey Bay are extremely social animals with complex social systems, hierarchies, and have family units, however, the scratches on them prove that they also fight pretty hard. The scars on the dolphins match their own mouths so don't think for a minute that these beautiful highly intelligent creatures are only sweet docile animals because they can really do some biting when they get mad at each other.

Our local coastal Bottlenose dolphins are just that. The population is small and utilizes habitats very near shore and in the surf line. They meander in small groups of 2 to 12 on average fishing and "perdinking" (technical term) around with the surfers on many occasions. This means for our trips we are really only going to be in their potential area as we are heading out or returning at the end of the trips. So don't forget to start looking as soon as the trip begins.

Killer Whales or Orca's are actually the largest dolphin in the dolphin family. They received the name killer whales because some very specific genetic groups, called transients, are known to kill whales. So the name was shortened from Killer of whales to Killer Whales. They are also called Orca's and it is fun to know that killer whales all over the world are very different and hunt different Prey.

In the Monterey Bay we are able to watch two types of Killer whales: Transients, marine mammal and bird predators; and
Open Ocean Killer whales, who are fish and shark eaters.

There is nothing like the excitement and adrenaline that flows when hanging out with Killer whales weather they are traveling, hunting or doing social displays. They are here year round but sightings are unpredictable. We see the "Transient" types the most and this leads to opportunities of watching them hunt their favorite prey such as seals, sea lions, dolphins, and even the big whales.

Killer Whale Hunting Viewing an actual successful hunt is like finding a golden treasure but it does happen. We might see some of their hunting strategies such as "Body Slamming" or "Pouncing" like a cat on a mouse. Once the kill is over we are often treated to a wonderful social display put on by the Killer whales. They can get very excitable and begin to Spy Hop, Tail Slap, and leap about slamming their body's on the surface.

We have two species of porpoises common to the Monterey Bay.

The first one is the Harbor Porpoise and it is difficult to hang out with them because of their shy nature and their small size. These little guys are only 4.5 to 6 ft (1.4-1.8m) and are our smallest cetacean in the Monterey Bay. We do get looks at them when we are over the shallower shelf but they are usually in small groups of 3 to 10 that will show you several surfacing's but tend to scamper away after a short period of time. If you are an attentive observer on a calm day and they are around you can get a few good looks at them.

The Dall's Porpoise is the second species of porpoise in Monterey Bay and they are one of the few pelagic (open ocean) porpoises in the world. These robust porpoises can also be a rolling ball of "spitfire" when they get to zipping around. The Dall's porpoise are one of the fastest most maneuverable cetaceans in the entire world. At times it seems they show this off by whirling in almost every direction at once weaving an invisible tapestry on the oceans surface. They can be very social with the boats and may dart over to take a ride off the bow of the boat or on the wakes created by our boat.