05.09.21 Weekly Wrap Up
Happy Mothers Day! Over the last weeks we have been seeing a ton of cow-calf pairs of whales, along with our various dolphin species. whale watching on the Legacy has been very exciting!
Humpback Whales were seen this past week and almost exclusively mama and baby pairs. Two of the three trips sighting Humpback Whales saw mom and baby swimming hip to hip. Parental care is quite extensive amongst our whales, with moms raising their young for the first 2-3 years. During this time, mom is teaching the young ones everything they need to know about how to get by in the wild on their own. Shoutout to all the whale mamas out their!
Fin Whales have been showing up around San Diego in large number over the last couple weeks. These whales are huge, second in size only to the Blue Whale, which is the largest animal to ever have lived on this planet. Though these whales are some of the fastest in the ocean, the sightings from the last week have all been individuals that are meandering in the waters off the South California coast. A few of these sightings have included cow-calf pairs as well. Some of these baby Fin Whales have actually gotten curious around the Legacy, giving us amazing views of them as they approach the boat and swim circles around us. Seeing mom and baby together, in clear blue water, really gives a sense of the size of these creatures. One trip had a cow-calf pair swim along side us, just underneath the surface, giving us a great comparison of size with the 80ft boat we go whale watching on.
Common Dolphin have been sighted this past week, with a huge amount of bait fish. Common Dolphin pods have sometimes included nursery pods, where mama dolphin are teaching the young ones how to fish. Sometimes, mom and baby will take a lesson on how to ride the wake of the boat, with the little ones being nudged in the right direction by mom if they miss their wave. So cute to see our baby marine mammals learning the ropes.
Lots of life offshore this past week. We have been sighting large bait balls and reports of dense krill aggregations suggest a great spring/summer for whale watching. We hope the projections are true! Cannot wait to see what the ocean will bring us in the upcoming weeks.
As always, you can book your trip here on our website or by calling us at 619-309-1680.
We hope to see you soon!