On a small inflatable boat last Friday, Evan Brodsky and two colleagues from the Whale Tour were searching for gray whales in the blue Pacific waters of Monterey Bay on the central California coast.
After four hours of searching, the team found only one whale.
But Mr Brodsky, the captain and videographer of the Monterey Bay Whale Watch, said he did not return to the harbor as he normally did, but said he had a “itrig” that they could not see them yet, they could not see them yet, and decided to stay on the water.
First, the three teams found about 15 dolphins swimming together. It follows the little pods, knowing that dolphins are highly social marine animals that usually travel in larger groups.
About 30 minutes later, 15 dolphins became hundreds. Then there were thousands of people.
“I kind of glanced at the horizon, maybe about a mile and a half from us, the water looked like it was boiling,” said Mr Brodsky, 35. “It’s bubble. There are a lot of dolphins there.”
During previous outings, Mr. Brodsky had seen hundreds, sometimes thousands of pods of dolphins, but it was the first time he had seen so many northern right whale dolphins gathering, mixing with Pacific white dolphins. In the past, he only saw a few hundred species in one place.
Mr Brodsky used his drones and past experience to estimate that his team saw more than 2,000 dolphins that Friday.
“We kept saying, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, it was amazing, I couldn’t believe it.” When the team was in the water almost every day, Mr Brodsky said the dolphin scene still gave him a “butterfly.”
Dorian Houser, director of conservation biology at the National Marine Mammal Foundation, said that although the species is known as a community person and willing to gather with others, it is rare to see the northern right whale dolphin in a pod.
“I usually meet a lot smaller group,” said Dr. Houser, who also found them in Monterey Bay.
Dr. Houser said he suspected that the dolphins had a lot of food on the day of witnesses, causing them to gather in such a large group. There is a canyon through the bay, which makes the area a “quite unique” place full of nutrition and appeal to wildlife, Dr. Houser said.
Mr Brodsky said that in the distinctive grouping of the northern right whales, he and his colleagues had seen his mother and his calves, and he had only witnessed them a few times.
Whale observers make sure not to disturb what he calls the dolphin “super point” by keeping a safe distance and being parallel to them. But sometimes, dolphins will swim next to their boat.
Mr. Brodsky has seen other Superpods before, including about a month ago when he captured about 1,500 Risso dolphins in Carmel Bay, south of Monterey Bay. Even so, he saw large groups swimming together.
“It’s the best feeling,” Mr Brodsky said. “This is indescribable.”
Christina Morales Contribution report.
