Aerial view of the Big Sur coastline near Monterey, California

© Blue Planet Archive/Alam

Grey days ahead in Monterey

In late winter and early spring in California's Big Sur, thousands of grey whales, many with calves in tow, swim by this part of the Pacific coast as they migrate from the warm waters of Baja to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Come winter, they pass by again on the swim south. The entire round-trip route clocks in at about 19,312 kilometres, making grey whales among the longest migrators of the animal kingdom. Because they travel close to the coastline, it's also one of the few whale migrations you can see from shore.