Tag: blue whale

Rescue dog enjoys first look at blue whale, footage is ‘priceless’

During a voyage off San Diego, Fin is shown intently observing the massive whale at close range. What could be going through his mind?

A San Diego whale-watching captain this week shared a short but wonderful video clip showing a dog intently observing a surfacing blue whale.

“First Mate Fin reporting for whale-spotting duty!” Capt. Dom Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, stated via Instagram.

Biagini added: “This is the first time I’ve taken Fin with me on a filming expedition, and he had a blast searching for all the wildlife.”

Blue whales, which can measure nearly 100 feet and weigh 200 tons, are the largest creatures on the planet.

The footage was captured by Erica Sackrison, also with Gone Whale Watching, and one can’t help but wonder what was going through Fin’s mind as the majestic leviathan revealed its massive fluke befor a deep dive.

Several Instagram followers chimed in with comments, including this from Sackrison:

“1. ‘You can swim under me any time now.’

“2. ‘I wonder if you taste like chicken.’ ”

Other observations:

–“So freaking cool. Go Fin!!!

–“This is everything! 💙💛”

–“Priceless…. What they must think as they slip back under.”

–“I wonder if he can hear them singing underwater.”

Biagini told FTW Outdoors that Fin is a 5-year-old mixed yellow lab/golden retriever that he rescued near the U.S.-San Diego border.

On Instagram, Biagini reflected on the evolution of Fin as a whale-watching companion:

“The first time I took Fin on the boat was when he was a puppy, and he promptly sprinted to the front of the boat and jumped off into the bay! 😂 We’ve come a long way since then!”

Largest shark on planet wows boaters in rare California showing

A San Diego whale-watching company logged an extraordinary daily double Monday with sightings of a blue whale and a whale shark.

A San Diego whale-watching company logged an extraordinary daily double Monday with the sighting of a blue whale and a whale shark.

The blue whale is the planet’s largest creature, but the rarer sighting was that of the whale shark – the planet’s largest fish species – far north of its typical range.

“I always say ‘you never know what you’re going to see out there’ and today proved that!” San Diego Whale Watch boasted on Facebook. “Not only did we find hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins, but we found a blue whale, two Molas [sunfish] and a WHALE SHARK!”

Whale sharks, filter feeders that can measure 40-plus feet, are found in tropical waters around the world, including Mexico and Hawaii. Sightings off Southern California are exceedingly rare.

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But hot weather and light winds have allowed for unusually high sea surface temperatures, inviting exotic species such as dorado, or mahi-mahi, and at least the one whale shark.

(Blue whales, which can measure 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons, feed off California every summer.)

The whale shark that greeted San Diego Whale Watch passengers and crew swam near the boat, allowing for lots of gawking and picture-taking.

The “gentle giants” are incredibly popular among scuba divers and snorkelers in areas they’re known to frequent.

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How many ‘hitchhikers’ can you spot on this giant blue whale?

A San Diego-based videographer has captured the moment a giant blue whale surfaced with remoras on its head.

A San Diego-based photographer has captured the moment a blue whale surfaces and blasts a massive mist plume skyward.

But what stands out in the drone footage captured by Domenic Biagini recently at San Clemente Island are the many remoras visible on the whale’s head, or rostrum.

Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, asked his Instagram followers:

“How many Remoras can you count on this Blue Whale’s rostrum? Those little sucker fish are bigger than you realize, and they are found on almost every single Blue Whale we see out here!

“The Blue Whales pick up the remoras in warmer waters down south off of Baja and Central America, and these little hitchhikers provide a kind of ‘skin cleaning’ service for the largest animal on earth! Nature is pretty amazing.”

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Blue whales, which can measure 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons, are the largest creatures on the planet. They feed on tiny shrimp-like krill and can be found off Southern California during late spring and summer.

Whale watchers don’t often see remoras because their viewing perspectives are limited compared to views afforded by drones flown directly over the whales.

Remoras attach themselves to their larger hosts, including sharks, and feed on scraps of food, plankton, and parasitic copepods.

They do not seem to adversely affect their hosts.

As for Biagini’s quiz, most of those who have inspected his footage or the accompanying images discovered that the correct answer is 12. Most will also agree that nature is, indeed, amazing.