The number of gray whales spotted off the California coast soared this winter, and Dana Point was no exception.
Volunteers for the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project counted a record 368 grays in December. That's way up from the previous 10 seasons, in which about 80 grays were counted on average.
- See video from this month of two gray whales off the Dana Point coast above.
Here are the recent whale numbers reported by Dana Point whale tour operations:
Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari
- Jan 6: 4 Gray Whales, 1,000 Common Dolphins, 25 Bottlenose Dolphins.
- Jan 5: 13 Gray Whales, 850 Common Dolphins, Raft of 100 Sea Lions, 1 Mola Mola.
- Jan 4: 2 Humpback Whales, 4 Gray Whales, 750 Common Dolphins, 350 Bottlenose Dolphins, 9 Pacific White-Sided Dolphins.
- Jan. 3: 7 Gray Whales, 650 Common Dolphins, 100 Bottlenose Dolphins.
- Jan. 5: 9 Gray Whales, 1 Calf & Common Dolphins
- Jan. 4: 10 Gray Whales, Offshore Bottlenose & Common Dolphins
- Jan. 3: 3 Gray Whales, Bottlenose & Common Dolphins
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