The visit to the Sanctuary of Las Ballenas Jorobadas in Samaná is one of the most beautiful excursions that exist in the Dominican Republic in the beautiful bay and in the Silver Bank, located in the Northwest of the country, where Every year, between the months of December And April, about 3,000 humpback whales come to reproduce in the warm waters on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Until recently it was believed that only 85% of the Atlantic humpback whales were born in Dominican waters and returned annually to mating and breeding. But a recent study revealed that all populations of the North Atlantic come to reproduce in our waters.
It’s an amazing sight waiting for you every summer in Bahía Samaná: humpback whales that come from the seas of Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and North America, who come to the Caribbean Sea to give birth and seek a mate in the hot water. From January to March, thousands remain in Samaná Bay.
The show is impressive, when the 40-ton males jump up the water and fall down a few meters ahead. If it does not win any female reactions the male tries to attract them with a long and monotonous song that the whales can hear up to a radius of 30 kilometers. Only those who are diving can hear this song. After giving birth to their children, the whales prepare their return to the north. Since 1986 “Banco de Plata”, Samaná, has become a sanctuary for the protection of whales.
