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Baby great white shark grabs spotlight on whale-watching trip

Whale watchers out of Newport Beach last week enjoyed a bonus sighting in the form of a newborn great white shark that swam near the boat.

Whale watchers out of Newport Beach last Tuesday enjoyed a bonus sighting in the form of a newborn great white shark that swam alongside the vessel for several minutes.

The accompanying video footage and still images were captured from aboard the Newport Legacy by Delaney Trowbridge for Davey’s Locker Sportfishing and Whale Watching.

Trowbridge told For The Win Outdoors that the encounter with the 3- to 4-foot shark occurred one mile off Crystal Cove State Park in Laguna Beach.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4BOEjlEaK4]

“It was an unbelievably lucky moment,” she said. “We almost never see sharks at the surface, and when we do the conditions are usually not nice enough to get a clear view of the animal. You usually just see a few inches or less of the dorsal fin.”

Also, small white sharks spook easily, but Trowbridge added, “This shark was very relaxed with us.”

Asked to confirm the ID, Chris Lowe, Director of the Shark Lab at California State University – Long Beach, told FTW Outdoors: “Looks like a white shark to me and based on its swimming pattern and body shape, I would say relatively newborn.

Lowe added, “There is a lot of shark activity along the coast right now, all juveniles and a lot of young-of-the-year (born this spring).”

Adult white sharks, which can measure to about 20 feet, typically prey on seals and sea lions near island rookeries. It’s not known precisely where they give birth.

Juvenile white sharks, which are on their own since birth, spend a lot of time in shallow coastal waters, where they feed on rays and other bottom fishes.

These are the sharks most commonly featured in video footage captured by drone operators.

However, sightings of newborn white sharks are rare, especially from aboard whale-watching boats, which typically operate well beyond the surf zone.

Said Trowbridge: “This one just calmly cruised beside us and everyone on board was completely amazed by just how well you could see this animal.

“Eventually we had to keep moving, though, and left it behind us. But within a half-hour we had come across over 1,000 common dolphins, two humpback whales, and thousands of birds.”

–Images and video courtesy of ©Delaney Trowbridge/Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching

Whale fails at social distancing with paddleboarder

A paddleboarder attempting to keep his distance from a whale off Southern California had a hard time of it because it kept coming at him.

A paddleboarder attempting to keep his distance from a gray whale off Southern California had a hard time of it because it kept coming at him.

“A couple of times he popped up right next to me, I saw the tail pop up right next to me,” Doug Griffith told the Orange County Register. “I just think it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I spend a fair amount of time in the water and you don’t see a whale every day.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Watch ice fisherman pull a 50-pound fish through tiny hole

Photographer Matt Larmand, who captured video of the close encounter off Capistrano Beach in Dana Point on Sunday, told the Register it’s the closest he’s seen whales come to shore along this stretch of beach. It came within 10 to 15 feet of the beach at times. It also came quite close to Griffith, who told the Register it kept zigzagging at him.

“[The whale] was not keeping the 6-feet away like he was supposed to,” Larmand told the Register.

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For Griffith, who was paddling with his son and dad, the outing was a nice alternative to the whale-watching trip he and his son Fritz were scheduled to be on in Baja. It was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I don’t need to go to Baja now,” Fritz told his dad.

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Watch: Dolphin launches like a rocket near whale watchers

Whale watchers off California received an unexpected dolphin show when one from a pod launched high into the sky right next to the boat.

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.

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‘Friendly’ gray whale visit presents rare photo opportunity

A migrating gray whale paused to visit whale-watching boats Monday off Southern California, and for one operator this rare behavior represented a unique opportunity. Ryan Lawler, owner of Newport Coastal Adventure in Newport Beach, donned a wetsuit …

A migrating gray whale paused to visit whale-watching boats Monday off Southern California, and for one operator this rare behavior represented a unique opportunity.

Ryan Lawler, owner of Newport Coastal Adventure in Newport Beach, donned a wetsuit and slipped into the water just feet from the enormous leviathan, and captured a series of stunning images.

“The whale stared right at me!” Lawler told For The Win Outdoors. “But I don’t know how much it recognized or cared about me. It was instead very focused on the boat itself.”

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Gray whales, which can measure 50 feet and weigh 40 tons, famously swim close to boats in lagoons along Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, where the mammals nurse and breed. But they rarely exhibit this “friendly” behavior during their annual migration from Alaska to Mexico and back.

Lawler and Capt. Alex Shaw went back out after a morning charter and were about one mile off Laguna Beach when the whale appeared and nudged the vessel with its snout. Lawler slipped into the water and captured footage while making sure to keep a constant hold onto the boat.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6h-gXdqzI&w=560&h=315]

When he was finished, Shaw dropped in and enjoyed up-close views of the whale, which moved slowly and gracefully, like a gentle giant.

“We were very cautious to just assume a position of being one with the boat,” Lawler said. “Since the whale was interested in the boat, we didn’t want to freely swim around the whale and potentially alarm it.”

Asked if he was tempted to swim freely with the whale, Lawler responded: “Yes. But … it was scary, too, since it was doing tight maneuvering around the boat, and to make those tight turns it was slashing its tail. That made me think twice.”

Lawler recalled Shaw saying “in particular how amazing it was to stare down this whale. Total eye contact, it was beautiful!”

The same whale also visited boats from Dana Wharf Whale Watching (see video) and Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari. Capt. Dave’s video features a passenger gently touching the whale.

It’s not advisable to swim with or touch marine mammals off California, and it could be considered a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act if such actions alter the behavior of the mammals.

But in this case the whale initiated the contact, seemingly out of curiosity, and eventually continued its slow northbound journey.

–Images and video are courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure

Famous gray whale ‘Scarback’ grabs spotlight off California

The sighting of a gray whale named “Scarback” has helped signal the beginning of the 2019-20 southbound migration off Southern California.

The sighting Tuesday of a gray whale famously known as “Scarback” has helped signal the beginning of the 2019-20 southbound migration off Southern California.

The adult female whale, believed to have been disfigured in the 1980s by a ship strike or an exploding harpoon, was spotted Tuesday morning off Manhattan Beach, traveling with a juvenile companion.

Both whales were later spotted by volunteers with the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, which operates from the Point Vicente Interpretive Center on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

“We watched two southbound GRAY WHALES today – including the very famous adult female “SCARBACK” from the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, who is seen every summer feeding off of Depoe Bay, Oregon!” Alisa Schulman-Janiger, the project’s director, exclaimed on Facebook. “We watched them as they hugged the kelp line for 45 minutes.”

The sighting increased to three the number of gray whales tallied this season by project volunteers, in what appears to be a late migration of gray whales from northern feeding waters to Mexican nursing and breeding areas.

Scarback is among an estimated 232 gray whales within the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, according to the Cascadia Research Collective. These whales forage during the summer between Northern California and British Columbia, while the vast majority of gray whales feed off Alaska.

Scarback was first documented in 1979, before sustaining her injury, and has had multiple calves. Her primary feeding area is off Depoe Bay, where most sightings have occurred. (The still-open wound, covered in orange whale lice, is most clearly visible from her right side.)

She has been observed several times off Southern California and last season she was spotted traveling southbound in December, and northbound in January, which is extremely early for whales to be migrating back to foraging areas.

However, last season was unusual in that more than 200 gray whales died and became stranded during the migration. Many were emaciated and did not appear to have enough fat reserves to make it back to feeding areas. (Gray whales, as a rule, do not feed during the migration period.)

NOAA declared the elevated number of strandings an “Unusual Morality Event” and is still studying precise causes of death. (The overall gray population was estimated to number just under 27,000 animals in 2016.)

It remains unclear whether the whales currently migrating south consumed enough prey to sustain their marathon round-trip journey, but Scarback and her young companion looked to be in good shape.

“Scarback was very large and robust,” Schulman-Janiger said. “She looked very healthy. So wonderful to see such a big, healthy-looking gray whale.”

–Top images showing Scarback off Southern California on Tuesday are courtesy of Alisa Schulman-Janiger. Bottom image, showing the whale’s still-open wound, is courtesy of Carrie Newall/Whale Research EcoExcursions