Whale watchers aboard a boat off Southern California received an unexpected dolphin show Wednesday when one from a pod of 60 launched like a rocket right next to the boat.
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If not for passenger Joni Kilgore recording video at the time, the amazing height the dolphin reached would have been but a memory. Instead, she shared it with Newport Coastal Adventure, the whale-watching company out of Newport Beach which led the trip.
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“The excited bottlenose dolphin jumped at least 20 feet in the air right next to our boat,” Jessica Roame told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors, adding that the dolphin “rocketed out of the water for fun, delighting our whale-watching passengers.”
Obvious from the video, the reaction of the whale watchers was delight and amazement.
“Bottlenose dolphin are among the most intelligent animals in the ocean, and to witness them behaving in this way is both wondrous and incredible,” Roame said.
The whale watchers also were treated to the sighting of a dolphin known as Patches; the photo below explains the nickname.
“His sighting is significant in Orange County because he is a very recognizable bottlenose dolphin with pink colored ‘patches’ all over his body,” Roame told For The Win Outdoors.
“These pink ‘patches’ are caused by a genetic abnormality called leucism, which gives it an unmistakable color pattern. He usually travels with a large group of conspecifics and has been reported all over the Southern California Bight, from the Mexican Border to the Santa Barbara Channel.
“The skin underneath appears pink because of the blood vessels of the animal showing through their non-pigmented skin.
“These marine mammals can be between 6-12-feet long and weigh close to 1,400 pounds when they’re fully grown, so it was a thrilling sight for all our passengers to witness.”
Highlighted, of course, by the high-flying dolphin.
Photos by Joni Kilgore and Delaney Trowbridge, who captured the closeup photo of the dolphin returning to the water.