Aerial view of the Big Sur coastline near Monterey, California, USA

© Blue Planet Archive/Alam

Grey days ahead

In late winter and early spring, 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 California to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Come winter, they pass by again on the swim south. The entire roundtrip route clocks in at about 20,000 kilometres, making grey whales among the longest migrators of animal kingdom. Because they travel close to the coastline, it's also one of the few whale migrations you can see from shore.