It’s a rare sighting in San Francisco Bay: a humpback whale in March.
There's at least one captured in photos seeking out fish to feed on, spotted off Sausalito, Tiburon and mid-bay every day since last Tuesday.
"The reason this is so unusual is that this is the first time we’ve ever seen a humpback whale feed inside San Francisco Bay in the month of March," said Bill Keener, research associate on the Cetacean Field Research Team at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
What few humpbacks that have entered the bay usually come in late April.
"This phenomenon of humpback whales coming to feed in the bay was not known historically, so this is something new for San Francisco Bay," he told KCBS Radio. "Part of it is (that) the bay is doing better. We’ve got more fish in the bay."
The humpbacks can reach 52 feet in length.
Keener said mariners should be aware.
"People have to be really alert if they see a blow, if the see the spout," he said. "Especially when these whales are feeding, they are lunging up suddenly and could potentially injure a small boat or a kayaker."
Anyone with their own photos of the whale is being asked to share them with the Marine Mammal Center.
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