Whale-watchers see rare 'triple breach' of humpback whales off Monterey coast

ByABC7 News Staff KGO logo
Monday, October 12, 2020
RARE SIGHT: 'Triple breach' of humpback whales off Monterey coast
Some excited whale-watchers got to witness a rare 'triple breach' of two adult humpback whales and one calf off the Monterey coast from their boat on Sunday.

MONTEREY, Calif. (KGO) -- A group on a whale watching tour in Monterey was in the right place at the right time Sunday, and witnessed a spectacular sight - a "triple breach" of humpback whales!

You can hear an excited shriek and cheers from the boat of onlookers in Monterey Bay who spotted the maneuver.

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Princess Monterey Whale Watching calls the "triple breach" a very rare occurrence, happening when three whales leap out of the water in succession.

A very active humpback calf and two adult whales put on a show for the admiring tourists, that also included moves like chin slapping and pectoral fin slapping.

Scientists suspect these displays are used by humpback whales to communicate with one another.

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Humpbacks migrate south along the West Coast every autumn from Alaska to Mexico to find warmer waters for mating.

Princess Monterey Whale Watching says the boat's Captain has been on the bay for 45 years, and had never seen a triple breach before Sunday.

WATCH: Baby whale breaches dozens of times in front of boat off SoCal coast

A baby humpback whale was seen breaching in the water off Newport Beach dozens of times last weekend.