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Four dolphins, including baby, frolic near boats, paddleboarders in Dana Point Harbor

It’s not every day dolphins take a tour of the Dana Point Harbor.

Ocean enthusiast Rich German recently caught an unusual moment on camera when a pod of dolphins came frolicking into the small harbor, bringing thrills to boaters, kayakers and paddleboarders who watched as the marine mammals cruised around the waterways.

German, author of marine wildlife book Blue Laguna, said he’s seen dolphins enter the harbor a handful of times over the years, but they quickly figure out they made a wrong turn and head back out to sea.

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This group seemed in no hurry to leave.

The first two dolphins he saw were headed toward a gas dock and then into the channel.

“I was just slowly following to see what was going on,” he said. He was riding a personal watercraft.

Two more joined the tour, including a baby.

The four dolphins went under the bridge and headed toward Baby Beach, he said. Then they went past the Ocean Institute and turned back to swim along the rock jetty.

“It was interesting to me, they knew the terrain,” he said. “They weren’t lost.”

“You had paddleboarders, boaters, kayakers – everyone was going nuts watching them, having so much fun,” he said. “They just took their sweet time. Everyone on land was watching. It was super cool.”

A few days later, on Sunday, Jan. 17, German was paddleboarding off Laguna Beach when a mom gray whale and her newborn calf came swimming close to shore.

“They were just off the kelp forest, super close to shore,” he said. “When they came toward me, I realized it was a mom and baby.”

The calf, he speculated, couldn’t have been more than a day old. It was only about 12-feet long, riding on its mom’s back.

“They saw me and came right over, which is always just amazing to me – that a mom would trust me, a human, with her baby,” he said. “That baby wanted to check out Laguna Beach. It was awesome, it was a really sweet moment.”

The duo came close to Main Beach before continuing their journey south. Gray whales are currently migrating from their feeding grounds in Alaska to the warm-water lagoons in Mexico, where they typically give birth, though babies born along their journey have been documented in recent weeks.

German said seeing the wildlife up close out on the ocean helps him grapple with the ongoing challenges on land during the pandemic.

“It’s just a constant reminder to me of what’s real, what is important and why we need to protect the ocean and the whole planet,” he said. “The ocean is where I go to get grounded.”


Source: Orange County Register

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