For Christine Dorrity, encountering a gray whale while scuba diving Wednesday off La Jolla, Calif., was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget.”
Dorrity and Elizabeth Benitez were diving at a depth of 55 feet when they spotted the whale rolling on its side and seemingly foraging on the bottom.
“We had to back up a few times so make sure the tail would not hit us,” Dorrity stated on Facebook. “My heart has never pounded so fast.”
Dorrity’s Facebook post caught the attention of Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a researcher who explained that gray whales forage in sediment by rolling onto one side and unearthing prey items.
Schulman-Janiger told For The Win Outdoors, “It’s most likely a southbound juvenile, getting close to Baja, and looking for a snack on the way.”
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Gray whales feed predominantly on tiny crustaceans called amphipods in their summer range off Alaska. They migrate to Baja California each winter for the nursing and mating season. Some whales feed opportunistically during the migration.
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Unfortunately for the gray whale population, food has been scarce recently in Arctic waters. The population has plummeted from about 27,000 whales in 2016 to about 20,000.
Dorrity’s footage shows the young whale – perhaps 30 feet long – stirring up sediment beyond La Jolla Shores, south of V Point. A second clip (posted above) shared via Instagram shows a curious sea lion swimming in front of the camera just before the whale appears.
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