Watch Blue Whale Mother And Baby Playing Off Dana Point

DANA POINT, CA — This week in Dana Point, the afternoons have been perfect for setting out whale watching. Recently, on Captain Dave's Dolphin Safari, a mother blue whale was spotted with her 35-foot long baby calf. The pair frolicked off the coast while onlookers were able to watch and listen to them at play.

Whale watchers aboard Manute'a, a high-tech dolphin and whale watching catamaran operated by Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, enjoyed this breathtakingly up close encounter with the "magnificent blue whale mother and her calf," according to Captain Dave Anderson.

Capt. Dave's is seeing a record number of blue whales off the coast of Dana Point, according to Anderson.

"In May, sightings were up over 200% from the same month the year before," he said.

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 they migrate to the California coast to feed on krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean.

For over twenty years Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari has offered year round, eco-friendly, dolphin and whale watching excursions aboard unique, high-tech catamarans with exclusive features including Eye-to-Eye Underwater Viewing Pods.

For more information, visit: www.dolphinsafari.com

Photo, courtesy Dolphin Safari