Blue Whale 'Hook' Wows Tourists Off Dana Point Coast

It takes a trained eye to identify most whales. When Captain Dave Anderson recently spotted "Hook" off the Dana Point coast, though, there was no mistaking which blue whale had surfaced.

Here's more from Anderson:

Hook’s left tail fluke is almost entirely missing, making this whale very unique and easy to identify. It’s possible the fluke was sheared off by a large boat propeller or it could have been caused by a birth defect.

Hook does not let the deformity get in his way! Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari first recorded sighting of Hook off of Dana Point was in August 2011 and they have seen this whale every year since.

Blue whales like Hook migrate to Southern California between the months of May through October to feed on a small, shrimp-like crustacean called krill. Blue whales can consume four tons of krill in a single day! During the summer months Southern California has more blue whales than anywhere else in the world.