‘Something wasn’t quite right.’ Young gray whale takes wrong turn into California harbor
Whale watchers weren’t expecting to see a marine mammal before their tour boat left a California harbor.
But there it was.
A juvenile gray whale was swimming into the mouth of Dana Point Harbor on Wednesday, Feb. 16, Steve Burkhalter, a captain at Dana Wharf Whale Watching told McClatchy News.
And it was headed toward the whale watching boat, Burkhalter said.
The mammal was taking a breath and returning to the water for two to three minutes, he said, which isn’t normal behavior.
“It obviously knew something wasn’t quite right,” Burkhalter said.
Burkhalter said gray whales typically take several breaths before diving below the water’s surface.
The captain stopped the boat to drift, and the whale made a U-turn out of the harbor.
“It’s better just to stop the boat and let them maneuver around me,” Burkhalter said.
Burkhalter has worked as a captain since 2016 and said whales end up in the harbor once or twice a year, typically during northbound migration.
Juvenile whales hug the coastline as they make their way north and can accidentally swim into the harbor, he said.
He estimated the whale to be about 30 feet long.
After that initial sighting, he said it was a good day after catching a glimpse of nine whales.
“Nine different whales is definitely the best day that I’ve had all season,” Burkhalter said.
Whales are like “gentle giants,” he said.
So if one appears near a person who is swimming, paddleboarding or on a boat, he said to “stop, try to take in the moment, and it’s usually pretty fleeting.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 3:51 PM with the headline "‘Something wasn’t quite right.’ Young gray whale takes wrong turn into California harbor."
