Humpback whales are known for their playful nature, but a few especially rambunctious cetaceans this week wowed whale watchers when the marine mammals appeared to “dance” next to the charter boats.
Dana Wharf reported seeing six humpback whales, as well as a fin and minke whale on Wednesday, Oct. 18, but it was the humpbacks that stole the show.
The boat, captained by Steve Burkhalter, was seven miles outside of the Dana Point Harbor when two traveling humpbacks were fluking before diving down below the surface, a third humpback nearby.
Then the humpback duo became curious about the Ocean Adventures boat and “mugged us” for more than 30 minutes, according to naturalist Laura Lopez.
“As they swam around and under our vessel they rolled, fluked, spyhopped, including a double spyhop off the stern,” she wrote in a recap. Spyhopping is when the whales emerge straight up from the water. “Watching them glide through the glassy water seeming to look at us as we watched them was magical.”
