Whale watchers aboard Manute’a, a high-tech dolphin and whale watching catamaran operated by Captain Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, had a breathtakingly up close encounter with a magnificent blue whale who might be the calf of a well-known blue whale nicknamed Delta.

With Delta a very short distance away, the calf swam over to Manute’a, which was stationary, and rolled around just a few feet from excited passengers. It even came close enough to be seen from the boat’s Eye-to-Eye Underwater Viewing Pods. It was almost as if the smaller whale wanted to play with the boat!

Delta is easily recognizable due to the unique tail flukes that point upwards at each end, like the tips of an airplane. According to Cascadia Research Collective the first known sighting of Delta was on October 7, 1987 in the Gulf of the Farallones. About seven years ago the whale was seen off Dana Point and given the nickname Delta by our staff photographer and naturalist, Mark Tyson. Since then Delta has been seen numerous times up and down the coast Southern California, most recently last week off Newport Beach.

Cascadia lists the sex of Delta as unknown. Sunday’s encounter, if the smaller whale is indeed Delta’s calf, would indicate that Delta is female. Additionally, about four years ago Delta was seen by Captain Tom Southern with a different calf, further supporting the theory that Delta is a female.

With an estimated length of about 40 feet, the calf is probably around four months old. Blue whales are pregnant for approximately 10 to 12 months and give birth to a calf that’s about 23 feet long. The calf gains upwards of 200 pounds every day feeding on mother’s milk that is roughly 40% fat.

Blue whales are the largest known animal to have ever lived. During the summer months when they’re here feeding on krill Southern California hosts the largest concentration of blue whales in the world.


All audio and video footage is copyright David Anderson/DolphinSafari.com and may not be used without permission.

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Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari offers daily, year-round, dolphin and whale watching trips from Dana Point, California, aboard a hi-tech catamaran sailboat with Eye-to-Eye Underwater Viewing Pods.

(949) 488-2828
captaindave@dolphinsafari.com
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