whale watching – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Watch: Curious dog enjoys close encounter with ‘friendly’ whale

The most excited passenger during an all-day whale-watching trip Monday in California’s Monterey Bay was none other than … the dog.

The accompanying footage, captured by Evan Brodsky of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows an Australian shepherd observing a humpback whale face to face.

It was one of two whales that lingered near the idling boat, the Point Sur Clipper, for nearly two hours.

At times the “friendly” whales would spyhop, or hoist their heads above water to gaze at the folks on the boat.

Skipper, who just turned 1, could hardly contain himself. He cocked his head this way and that as if to ponder what he was looking at and whether the giant creatures might be friendly.

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Said Brodsky: “He comes whale watching all the time, but he usually hangs out in the pilot house, so this was definitely his first close encounter.”

Skipper was so entranced that he refrained from barking. “Over the whole two hours he was mostly silent just trying to figure out what was going on,” Brodsky said.

Skipper is owned by Nancy Black, who also owns Monterey Bay Whale Watch. The company is unique, in part, because of its dog-friendly policy.

“Well-behaved dogs are welcome on our trips,” the company boasts on its website.

Brodsky said that Skipper was equally enthusiastic, and curious, when a large pod of dolphins swam alongside the vessel on Monday.

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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Watch: Breaching humpback whale makes boat ‘disappear’

Humpback whales can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, so when they breach nearly free of the surface their splashdowns are loud and spectacular.

Humpback whales can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, so when they launch their massive bodies skyward their splashdowns are loud and spectacular.

The accompanying footage, shared Saturday by Discovery Whale Watch in Monterey, Ca., shows a breaching whale displacing so much water that it temporarily masks the vessel in the background.

“Watch our boat (New Horizon) disappear,” Discovery wrote on Facebook. “This humpback whale breached between our two boats. 10 out of 10!”

Discovery Whale Watch is based in Fisherman’s Wharf. Its website describes what tourists might encounter during the summer and fall:

“We expect to see humpback whales daily but we can also view blue whales, fin whales, gray whales (finishing migration), killer whales and a variety of other dolphin species.”

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Humpback whale picks up unintended passenger; photos

A Monterey Bay photographer on Saturday shared images showing a sea lion perched on the belly of a humpback whale.

A Monterey Bay photographer on Saturday shared images showing a sea lion perched on the belly of a humpback whale. It was an unplanned ride for the pinniped, which had been feeding on the same school of anchovies the whale had been lunging after.

Yee, who captured the images in 2020, re-shared them after they popped up as a Facebook memory. “One of the weirdest moments I’ve ever experienced at sea,” he recalled.

Yee was working as naturalist for Blue Ocean Whale Watch out of Moss Landing, aboard the High Spirits, when the bizarre interaction occurred.

He told FTW Outdoors that he was unaware of the presence of the sea lion until after the trip.

Kate Cummings, High Spirits captain, asked Yee to inspect his images because she had spotted the sea lion “tumbling down the length of the whale,” she said.

Cummings posted the images to Facebook with the description:

“Today our naturalist Eric Austin Yee caught the hilarious moment when a humpback whale launched out of the water lunge-feeding for anchovies and took an unsuspecting California sea lion for a ride!

“We commonly see humpback whales and sea lions feeding together on anchovies – but the sea lions have to be alert and get out of the whales’ way! This whale was too quick!”

In an interview, Cummings said, “Apparently I was laughing so loud that the captain on the other boat could hear me. It was funny because you could tell the sea lion was fine, albeit completely surprised.”

Humpback whales can catch thousands of anchovies in one gulp. Sea lions and birds – always nearby – must exercise caution as they attempt to participate in the feast.

Watch: ‘Luckiest anchovy in the world’ escapes voracious whale

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay has captured video footage showing an anchovy flying from the mouth of a lunge-feeding humpback whale.

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay has captured slow-motion footage showing an anchovy flying from the mouth of a lunge-feeding humpback whale.

Slater Moore Photography posted the footage to Instagram on Monday along with the description, “The luckiest anchovy in the world.” He put the amusing scene to Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cgu43BFjysx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Moore captured a remarkable moment considering that humpback whales typically lunge through massive schools of fish and can capture thousands in one gulp, yet only the one anchovy appears in the footage.

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The fish was obviously propelled upward by the force of the lunging whale, while wriggling in a flight for its life.

“Then a bird got him,” one of the commenters joked.

Reads another comment: “I don’t know… I think the seal on the right definitely saw that.”

–Image courtesy of Slater Moore Photography

Synchronized feeding? Whales wow tourists with stunning display

Passengers aboard a California whale-watching vessel on Tuesday watched in wonder as four humpback whales breached in unison while feeding on small fish.

The accompanying footage, captured by Johanna Domise of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows the whales engaging in vertical lunge-feeding behavior.

The vessel was in neutral when the dramatic close encounter occurred, according to the company, which exclaimed on Facebook:

“Humpback whales can eat up to 2 million calories per day! In this video, you can see the whale’s throat pleats expanding, taking in up to 5,000 gallons of water while feeding!”

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Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 50 tons, are commonly encountered in Monterey Bay. They’re known for their spectacular breaches, close approaches, and the voracious manner by which they feed.

It’s not rare to capture vertical lunge feeding on video, but it’s not common to capture footage showing four whales exhibiting this behavior at almost precisely the same moment.

Watch: Jet-ski rider speeds over whale, almost hits boat

A photographer has captured drone footage showing a seemingly out-of-control jet-ski rider speeding directly over a gray whale and nearly slamming into a whale-watching boat.

A photographer has captured drone footage showing a jet-ski rider speeding directly over a gray whale and nearly slamming into a crowded whale-watching boat.

The accompanying footage was captured Sunday inside the L.A. Harbor breakwater by Daniel Genuth. It has no sound and is best viewed in full screen.

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The footage was subsequently shared by Eric Martin, head aquarist at the Roundhouse Aquarium in Manhattan Beach, who wrote on Facebook:

“As [Genuth] was filming the animals feeding, he got a very horrible surprise. The jet-ski operator not only almost hit the whale, but almost hit the [vessel] Christopher. Then a sailboat went right over the whale, while the whale was feeding. I have no clue what people are thinking anymore when it comes to logic and our environment.”

Various gray whales have been feeding sporadically on the sandy bottom inside the harbor since mid-February, Martin told FTW Outdoors. At least two feeding there Sunday.

The footage begins with a whale surfacing with sand flowing from both sides of its mouth. Gray whales forage on sandy bottoms for crustaceans and other small critters. The sandy patches in the footage were created by feeding whales.

The Christopher, from Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach, is visible at the top of the screen. The jet ski blasts into the picture at 35 seconds, passing over a whale. The driver then speeds toward and veers within feet of the Christoper before continuing the joy ride.

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It’s unclear what happened next, or if the incident was reported to authorities. Harbor Breeze Cruises did not respond to inquiries by FTW Outdoors and did not mention the close call in its Sunday Facebook report.

It’s worth noting that the jet-ski driver might not have been aware of whales feeding inside the harbor, and might not have seen the mammals. But the driver obviously saw the 65-foot boat and high-speed passes such as this are dangerous, if not illegal.

Martin said the incident occurred beyond the low-speed, no-wake zone, but added: “I don’t think he was out of the stupid zone.”

Gray whales are currently migrating from nursing and mating regions of Baja California to summer feeding grounds in Arctic waters.

Surreal footage shows sea lions on dock practicing high dives

A California whale-watching company has captured surreal footage showing sea lions diving from perches high upon a dock.

A California whale-watching company has captured surreal footage showing sea lions diving from perches high upon a wooden dock.

“It happens every so often if the timing is right when we’re passing by them on the boat,” Kate Cummings, owner of Blue Ocean Whale Watch in Moss Landing, told FTW Outdoors. “It’s always a crowd-pleaser with lots of cheering. I always stop the boat if it looks like one is thinking of jumping off.”

The accompanying slow-motion footage is somewhat bizarre because of muffled cheers from the boat and bellows from other sea lions gathered in the foreground, as if comprising an audience.

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A post shared by Blue Ocean Whale Watch (@blueoceanwhalewatch)

Cummings’ video provides what appears to be an example of playful behavior and is reminiscent of extraordinary footage shared by FTW Outdoors in 2021, showing sea lions riding and leaping through massive waves near Santa Barbara Island.

That footage, captured by a documentary crew with Pacific Offshore Expeditions out of Newport Beach, is posted below.

Ryan Lawler, owner of Pacific Offshore Expeditions, described what he had witnessed as “an awesome moment.”

Lawler added: “I had never seen that before at this island, which is well known for its sea lions. So we stayed there for 20 minutes, observing and waiting for the sun to break up the fog. Then we dove [at another location] for about 90 minutes and came back, but all the sea lions had disappeared.”

Thar she glows! Dramatic sunset reveals whale likeness

As the sun dipped beneath the Southern California horizon Thursday, a glowing shape materialized that resembled the profile of a sperm whale.

As the sun dipped beneath the Southern California horizon Thursday, a glowing shape that resembled the profile of a sperm whale materialized above the ocean’s surface.

Enough of a resemblance, anyway, to compel me to capture a few images from the overlook at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas.

To ensure that I hadn’t visualized something that existed only in my imagination, I shared the images with a whale researcher, Alisa Schulman-Jainger, and asked her opinion.

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“I does look kind of like a sperm whale with its mouth open,” she conceded.

The source of the whiteish glow outlining the whale shape might have been a contrail illuminated by the sun.

Hardly a spiritual revival of Moby Dick, but perhaps a likeness that fans of cetaceans, sunsets, and cloud formations will appreciate.

Orcas slurp sea jellies in rare behavior caught on video

For the second time this year an orca family group has been documented playing with sea jellies in California’s Monterey Bay.

This rarely observed behavior – transient orcas, or killer whales, prey almost exclusively on marine mammals – involved the same four orcas.

On Tuesday, on a trip run by Capt. Slater Moore, the orcas were encountered outside of Moss Landing.

“We watched them eat a couple of sea lions. Then as they traveled out of the bay one of the younger ones [tossed] a jellyfish in her mouth,” Moore wrote on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Slater Moore (@slatermoorephotography)

Moore also joked: “I guess sea nettles taste like Jolly Ranchers?!?!”

Kate Cummings, owner of Blue Ocean Whale Watch, was aboard Moore’s boat and described the family group as “grabbing sea nettle jellies as they went,” after the sea lion predation.

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Sea nettles are jellies (jellyfish) whose tentacles can span 10-plus feet. Stinging cells paralyze small prey items, which are carried by “mouthy-arms” to the jellies’ mouths, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Orca slurps sea nettle. Photo: ©Kate Cummings

Moore and Cummings told FTW Outdoors that the orcas seemed to be playing with and not preying upon the sea nettles.

“I don’t think they swallowed any of the jellies,” Moore said.

The four orcas are cataloged as the CA202s by the California Killer Whale Project. They include a mom and her three offspring.

The same rarely encountered group – the mother is nicknamed Smiley because of a distinct marking in her saddle – was documented playing with sea nettles on Feb. 6.

Orca carries sea nettle. Photo: ©Tory Kallman

Passengers and crew aboard a Monterey Bay Whale Watch vessel watched as two of the orca siblings carried what might have been the same sea nettle at different times in the bay.

Tory Kallman captured footage of the oldest sibling (a male) swimming behind a GoPro camera with the sea nettle dangling from his chin.

Capt. Nancy Black, owner of Monterey Bay Whale Watch and co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, told FTW Outdoors that the orcas seemed to be playing with the jelly “like a dog plays with a ball.”

Black also said that these particular orcas might simply enjoy the stinging sensation generated by tentacles touching their tongues.