April 2019 Sightings & Updates

Last week, we saw our first Blue Whale of the season! We are still seeing Gray Whales, but the Blues seem to be starting to arrive for the summer! These whales are the #1 largest animals on the planet, and reach lengths of up to 100 feet. Seeing them on a whale watching cruise is a breathtaking experience.

Guests on yesterday’s whale watch were lucky to spot a group of 3 Guadalupe Fur Seals! We have never seen these before, although there have been rare reports of them in the area. They are considered endangered, but their populations have steadily grown in the past few decades after being nearly wiped out by fur sealers in the late 1800s.

We also continue to see a group of Gray Whales feeding in Long Beach/Los Angeles Harbors. Usually Gray Whales do not feed during their migration, so this is unusual behavior.

While we do see Fin Whales year round, we tend to see more of them during the summer months. Fin Whales are just slightly smaller than Blue Whales, making them the second largest whale on the planet. They are known as the ‘Greyhounds of the Sea’ because they can swim up to 30 mph. That’s just as fast as a deer!

On Friday, April 19th, whale watching passengers got to see a local favorite- Patches the Bottlenose Dolphin! Patches is very unique in that he has leucism, a genetic abnormality that causes the skin to not have pigment in certain sections. Patches is well known in the Southern California whale watching community, and many people look forward to seeing him off our coast. Patches it thought to be a male because he has never been seen with a calf.