Whale-watching excursions off Rio de Janeiro’s coast begin captivating tourists

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA and DIARLEI RODRIGUES
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro is famous for its beaches and vibrant parties in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer. The city now has a growing attraction for winter: humpback whales. The tourism agency of Rio sister city Niteroi across the Guanabara Bay on Thursday launched the metropolitan area’s first whale-watching program that enables tourists to closely observe the mammoth mammals. Humpback whales migrate to Brazilian waters to breed between June and November. About 25,000 humpback whales make a 4,000-kilometer journey from feeding areas in Antarctica to northeast Brazil. The whale-watching program is a joint initiative by the municipality of Niteroi and researchers from conservation initiative Amigos da Jubarte or Humpback Whale’s Friends.