Guests enjoying a whale-watching tour off the coast of Newport Beach Wednesday were treated to a dazzling display of marine mammal merriment when a pod of more than 100 bottlenose dolphins surrounded the boat performing high-flying leaps.
Visitors aboard Newport Coastal Adventure’s whale-watching vessel were out on the high seas during an afternoon voyage, keeping a collective eye peeled for the giant cetaceans when the agile dolphins were observed surrounding the boat.
A video still shows dozens of bottlenose dolphins Wednesday surrounding a Newport Coastal Adventures whale-watching tour.
(Video by Erica Page / Newport Landing Whale Watching)
“This large pod of dolphins began riding the boat’s wake and, in a stunning show of athleticism, repeatedly launched themselves out of the water, some easily soaring as high as 10 feet into the air,” Jessica Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Newport Landing Whale Watching, wrote in an email to the Daily Pilot.
“This type of ‘high flying’ behavior is not commonly seen by bottlenose dolphins and demonstrates this species’ playful nature and strong social bonds.”
In a video captured by whale-watch Capt. Erica Page, tourists are seen rushing to capture the energetic display on cellphone camera, oohing and ahhing as the dolphins glided through the air, splashing glistening water from their flukes as they peered momentarily at their human visitors and plunged back into the ocean.
Rodriguez said the moment was, for both seasoned naturalists and first-time whale watchers alike, a “breathtaking reminder of the vibrant marine life thriving just minutes from the Newport Beach harbor.”
A curious bottlenose dolphin spies on members of a whale-watching tour off the coast of Newport Beach on Wednesday.
(Jenna McKune / Newport Landing Whale Watching)