Whale watching cape cod free#

To find out more about sanctuary species and whale behaviors, visit the free Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Exhibit at 115 Bradford Street in Provincetown.Ī naturalist accompanies every cruise to serving as an interpretive guide to the ecology and natural history of Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays with emphasis on whales, other marine life and marine birds passengers are likely to see. Occasionally, a lone Beluga Whale will make several appearances in the sanctuary. An occasional glimpse of a sei whale, blue whale or sperm whale can sometimes be had. In addition to these more commonly seen species, visitors to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary have also seen harbor porpoises, pilot whales and northern right whales (the most endangered great whale on the planet). The species found here is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, distinguished by its bands of white and yellow that run along each side of its body. As the vessel speeds along, animals will trade places as they parallel the boat's track. Of course, one of the highlights of a whalewatch may be the opportunity to watch from the side of the boat as a group of dolphins ride the bow wake. In the world's oceans, these are the most common great whale, and these animals are hunted by commercial whalers in several nations. Minkes have distinctive white patches (sometimes called 'bandages') on their flippers. They tend to be less demonstrative than humpbacks, although some can be seen diving for fish when prey is around. Minkes are the smallest of the great whales that regularly visit Stellwagen Bank. Fin whales have a small dorsal fin well back on their bodies - when they dive you get to see a lot of back (but the flukes are seldom raised). These whales can sometimes be seen lunging for fish in short, sharp bursts of speed. Reaching lengths of 75 feet or so, 'finners' are the greyhounds of the ocean - fast and sleek. With its mouth open, the whale rises to the surface through the ring or cloud, capturing masses of fish in its massive mouth.įinbacks are another large whale - second in size only to the blue whale. Some whales use bubble clouds (masses of bubbles) or bubble nets (a ring of bubbles) to surround and confuse the schools of fish they feast upon. The humpbacks have learned a variety of techniques for capturing their prey.

The most commonly viewed large whales are humpbacks - distinguished by their large sizes (up to 45 feet in length), especially long flippers, bushy blows, and often showy behaviors, including breaching (leaping out of the water), flipper slaps and tail slaps. In fact, this area (the waters off Cape Cod and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary) is considered one of the top whale watching sites in the world. A whale watch trip can be one of the highlights of a vacation to Cape Cod.

Whale watching cape cod