You Won’t Believe How Ridiculously Lucky These Whale Watchers Got

Featured Image Credit: SpaceCoastDaily

Passengers aboard of Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point, California got much, much more than they paid for on their catamaran ride.

They had already had an ideal day and everyone was feeling good. They had seen a thousand dolphins and two grey whales. As they started returning to the dock, a pod of roughly 40 False Killer Whales rode alongside the bow of the boat.

It is very rare to see false killer whales, also called Pseudorca, off the coast of Southern California. Usually, these whales skip out on these waters for warmer ones – not that anyone can blame them. In fact, in March 2014, Captain Dave was the last person to have an encounter with the whales in almost 10 years!

The pod of false killer whales, swam alongside the port side of the boat and started to push against it. What came next is just ridiculous…

The passengers on the catamaran watched as a sudden burst of blood filled the water and a newborn calf popped out to the surface. The passengers watched an unexpected birth happen in about 80 feet of water!

Captain Tom Southern witnessed this unbelievable event, describing the whales as huddling around the calf. The whales then spent the next 10 to 12 minutes taking turns pushing the calf to the surface so the newborn would learn how to swim.

The rest of the crew was equally taken aback.

Captain Dave said,

“When Tom called and told me the news. Dang! I thought, If only we could have stayed out longer! But, one of my passengers needed to get back. What a once in a lifetime thing to see! In over twenty years on the water I have never seen anything like that. And I know of no one who has ever seen a wild Pseudorca birth!

Seasoned crew member, Mark Tyson, described the moment as his most emotional on the ocean ever.

Like orcas, false killer whales are members of the dolphin family. Newborns are under five feet in length. They will nurse for about one and a half to two years. When they are fully grown, adult false killer whales  will reach 15 to 20 feet in length and weigh nearly 1,500 pounds.

Just goes to show, you never know what could happen. You could catch a rare glimpse of a false killer whale giving birth one day…

At least that’s what we’re hoping.

Read more from our source: Space Coast Daily.