The number of gray whales spotted off the California coast soared this winter, and South Orange County was no exception.
Volunteers for the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project counted a record 368 grays in December. That's way up from the previous 10 seasons, in which about 80 grays were counted on average.
Here are the whale numbers reported by Dana Point whale tour operations:
Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari
- Jan 6: 4 Gray Whales, 1,000 Common Dolphins, 25 Bottlenose Dolphins.
- Jan 5: 13 Gray Whales, 850 Common Dolphins, Raft of 100 Sea Lions, 1 Mola Mola.
- Jan 4: 2 Humpback Whales, 4 Gray Whales, 750 Common Dolphins, 350 Bottlenose Dolphins, 9 Pacific White-Sided Dolphins.
- Jan. 3: 7 Gray Whales, 650 Common Dolphins, 100 Bottlenose Dolphins.
- Jan. 5: 9 Gray Whales, 1 Calf & Common Dolphins
- Jan. 4: 10 Gray Whales, Offshore Bottlenose & Common Dolphins
- Jan. 3: 3 Gray Whales, Bottlenose & Common Dolphins
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