Blue whales, the largest creatures ever to roam this Earth, visit the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary during the summer months. They come for the abundance of krill found along the edges of the Monterey Bay Canyon. Leopard sharks are a rare and unusual sight int he kelp forests of Monterey Bay. These harmless sharks eat a variety of bottom dwelling invertebrates. Jack Mackerel are one example of the many types of silver sided fish found in the Sanctuary.
Black rockfish are large, powerful swimmers.
This Cabezon, which lives in the rocky substrate of most of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary kelp forests, spends most of its time on the bottom feeding and guarding its bright colored eggs. This Killdeer and other shorebirds take advantage of the rich invertebrate life found between the grains of sand along the shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Many predators take advantage of the rocky inter tidal areas at low tide. These black oyster catchers are feeding on California mussels attached to the reef. Wetland areas such as Elkhorn slough have as many as 50-60 different species of birds visiting each year.