Dolphin interrupts courting gray whales
Drone footage of migrating gray whales in Dana Point, California
Drone footage of courting gray whales off the coast of southern California has captured one of the huge mammals moving its tail like a snake, possibly to scare off a nearby dolphin.
The footage, which was shot with a DJI Phantom drone, was taken by Dana Wharf Whale Watching on March 19. The Dana Point encounter happened during the gray whales’ north migration.
In a YouTube post, Dana Wharf Whale Watching explains that the pacific white-sided dolphin may have been pestering the whales. “We have never seen a whale move his tail like a snake, it looks as though the whale is slapping at the dolphin and then you see the dolphin appear again at the top of the whale,” it said.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.