More than 2,000 dolphins gathered off the California coast to form a “superpod”, gliding and breaching the clear, aquamarine waters off Monterey Bay.
The superpod included Northern right whale dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins, as well as light grey baby calves. Evan Brodsky, a captain and videographer with the private boat tour company Monterey Bay Whale Watch, captured a video of the dolphins, and his company shared it on Facebook, calling the spectacle “mind-blowing”.
Brodsky was out with the private whale-watching tour company’s survey team, conducting research in the area. The company had also recently spotted thousands of Risso’s dolphins in the same region.
“Super pods like this are rare, especially of Northern right whale dolphins,” Monterey Bay Whale Watch wrote on Facebook, noting that winter is the best time to watch for dolphins in this area. Northern right whale dolphins typically travel in smaller clusters of 100 or 200, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
They are the only species of dolphin in the north Pacific region that lack dorsal fins, and are known to be acrobatic swimmers who can leap more than 20ft above the water.
“They’re all smooth,” Brodsky told the Associated Press. “When they jump, they look like flying eyebrows.”
He and his crew became entranced by the sight, he said: “We were so excited, it was hard to hold in our emotions. We had the biggest grins from ear to ear.”
Dolphins might cluster to fend off predators, or feed together. “In pods they play, babysit, alert each other to danger like predators, practice courtship, and hunt together,” according to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco, is a destination for marine wildlife enthusiasts. The bay is part of a national marine sanctuary stretching from Marin county in the north to Cambria in the south.
