A Juvenile Gray Whale was seemingly unaware of all the kayakers, beachgoers, and paddle boarders at Dana Point Harbor for most of the day on Tuesday before the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol finally chased it back out to sea.

Dana Point sees juvenile gray whale

As can be seen from the video footage included below, the whale’s appearance caused quite a stir with hundreds of beach-goers at Baby Beach, while the kayakers and paddle boarders tried to chase it out to sea. Meanwhile, the gray whale swam happily around, apparently unaware they were even there.

It started at around 6:45 a.m. when the gray whale was first spotted alongside the Dana Point Harbor docks where an aerial photographer, Dominic Biagini, who works with a dolphin and whale safari organization, captured the footage. He began filming by drone above Baby Beach and watched as the whale made its way past the Pilgrim tall ship in the harbor and carried on circling the fishing pier. Biagini said he has filmed plenty of animals, but this experience was amazing. He even saw a woman jump into the water off her kayak right next to the whale.

Harbor Patrol to the rescue of the gray whale

As reported by CBS News, Sgt. John Hollenbeck of the Harbor Patrol said they took they fire boat out to spray the surface of the water, while the paddle boarders hit the water with their paddles, in an attempt to set the gray whale back on its correct course.

Hollenbeck said the whale took them on a few laps around the harbor. After they finally shooed the gray whale back out to sea, it was spotted later heading north off Laguna Beach.

Nathan Good, a 12-year-old on a whale watching trip with the junior guards said it was “awesome.” According to Good, the whale was right there in the kid’s swimming area, but it looked as though it was going to get stuck.

They watched as the captain sailed towards the whale and they got to see the whole thing as the whale was chased back out to sea.

According to the Sacramento Bee, it is unusual to see gray whales in Southern California at this time of year, as they have normally completed their migration and are feeding in the Bering Sea.

Justin Greenman of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the gray whale should have been feeding further up north and that the juvenile might have been in Mexico but got left behind.

He said NOAA had contacted harbors up as far as Los Angeles to tell them about the juvenile and to warn paddle boarders and kayakers to keep away from him as he might be confused and could get spooked.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED