Isla Guadalupe · Mexican Pacific · Whale Research
Home of the
Deepest Divers
A volcanic island off Baja California is one of the best places on Earth to study goose-beaked whales. Sea Shepherd crews and Mexican scientists have followed them here for years.
- Beaked whale groups sighted in two weeks, 2016
- 29
- Individual whales in the photo ID catalog by 2017
- 69
- Miles off the coast of Baja California
- 160
Sea Shepherd / The Whales
The Deepest Divers
Goose-beaked whales, formerly called Cuvier's beaked whales, dive deeper and longer than any other mammal and are rarely seen anywhere.
These whales reach depths of nearly 10,000 feet and can stay down for up to two hours, which makes them some of the hardest animals in the ocean to study. Around Guadalupe Island they surface often enough to be counted, photographed and followed over time.
Working with Dr. Gustavo Cardenas Hinojosa of CONANP, Mexico's park service, Sea Shepherd has supported one of the only long-term studies of beaked whales in existence, with one of the largest numbers of sightings ever recorded.
ProtectedGuadalupe has been a biosphere reserve since 2005. Mexico closed it to shark cage diving in 2022 and made the ban permanent in 2023.
Goose-beaked whales off Guadalupe Island. Credit: Sergio Martinez
Biosphere reserve · Since 2005
Isla Guadalupe
A remote volcanic island in the Pacific, home to plants and birds found nowhere else and to some of the most studied beaked whales on Earth.
2020 · North of the San Benito Islands
A New Whale
Scientists on a Sea Shepherd expedition saw three beaked whales that matched no known species, by sight or by sound.
Sea Shepherd / Wildlife
What Lives Here
- 01
Goose-beaked whales
Mothers and calves are seen here often, a sign the island may be a breeding ground for the species.
- 02
White sharks
One of the best known gatherings of white sharks in the world, now shielded from cage diving.
- 03
Fur seals and elephant seals
Guadalupe fur seals and northern elephant seals haul out on the island's rocky shores.
- 04
Dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins work the deep water around the island.
- 05
Life found nowhere else
The Guadalupe palm and Guadalupe cypress grow on the island and nowhere else on Earth.
Sea Shepherd / The Research
How the Science Works
Each season puts scientists, park rangers and crew on the water together, a day's sail from the mainland.
Small boat surveys
Biologists work from small boats to find, count and follow whales when they surface.
Photo identification
Scars and markings identify individual whales, showing which ones return to the island year after year.
Reserve patrols
Our crews visit at least once a year to support the shark diving ban and watch for illegal fishing.
Sea Shepherd / The Threat
What Threatens It
- 01
Illegal fishing
The island is remote and hard to patrol, which makes it a target for boats that ignore the reserve's rules.
- 02
Noise and boat traffic
Beaked whales are sensitive to noise. Mexico closed the island to cage diving partly to cut traffic and disturbance.
- 03
Invasive species
Goats, cats and other animals brought by fur hunters stripped the island's plants and wiped out native birds.
- 04
Too little known
Beaked whales are so rarely seen that protecting them depends on long-term research like this.
Sea Shepherd / Results
What the Research Found
Expedition after expedition, Guadalupe has proven to be a place these whales return to.
-
2016 October
29groups
of beaked whales in two weeks, the most sightings anywhere in that time, including two mothers with calves.
-
2017 May
24sightings
with several mothers and young calves, and rare drone footage of a mother and calf together.
-
2017 November
69whales
in the photo ID catalog, with one whale seen 13 times since 2009.
-
2020 San Benito IslandsDiscovery
3whales
of what scientists believe may be a species unknown to science, recorded on camera and by hydrophone.
Sea Shepherd / Gallery
From Guadalupe
Sea Shepherd / Guadalupe Island
Protect the Deepest Divers
Research this far offshore takes fuel, a skilled crew and scientists on board. Your gift keeps our crews working in Mexico's most important marine protected areas.
69 individual whales identified
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