Pets
Watch 2 Baby Gray Whales, Moms Frolic Off Dana Point
The leviathans and their babies appeared out of the depths to the delight of whale watchers along the Southern California coast.
DANA POINT, CA —It is a longed-for sight every year for lovers of marine mammals along the California coastline: the migration of the gray whales. In mid-January, the first baby gray whales typically appear with their mommies, and 2021 is no exception.
The ocean off Dana Point, known as the "Whale Watching Capital of the World" since 2020, is one of the best places to see them.
"Last year, we saw our first baby gray whale on Jan. 4th. This year, we are so lucky to report that Jan. 9th marks our first gray whale mom and little calf sighting," said Donna Kalez of Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching.
Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
This week, two baby gray whales were spotted traveling with their mothers. "Not one set of mother and baby, but two," Kalez told Patch. "That is such wonderful news and a great sign of things to come."
Whale watchers up and down the Southern California coast usually encounter their first babies of the season in the first week of January, Kalez said. On Sunday, gray whales were spotted from Oceanside to the south and Long Beach to the north, she added. "The gates have opened, let the season really begin!"
Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Dana Point area residents start their annual gray whale watch in December and continue seeking spouts and flukes through May. Kalez and Dave Anderson of Captain Dave's Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari said that gray whales often travel in pods of up to 15 at a time.
Previous drone video shows the pods traveling past Dana Point through February. "Then in March through May, we see those same whales returning home on the northbound migration," Kalez said. "We assume they are the same, as there is no ID system for gray whales, but we do have a few we know by markings or injuries that pass by every year."
If you have been waiting for the time to go whale watching, it's here. Make a reservation for Dana Point whale watching tours here.
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