A California whale watching tour group got more than they bargained for on a recent excursion.
In video posted to its YouTube page, Captain Dave's Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari said its staff and guests were off the coast of Dana Strands Beach in Dana Point when they encountered a gray whale who was birthing a calf.
"At first, the sighting appeared to be a typical migrating gray whale," according to the company's post. "As the boat slowly approached the animal, our crew noticed it was behaving sporadically. Passengers and crew saw something orange and red colored in the water that they thought might have been kelp. Instead, a newborn calf came up to the surface."
Typically, gray whales prefer to give birth in the warm waters off of Baja California, Mexico, but this one appears to have been born before its mother could reach the warmer waters during her annual migration.
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Gray whales migrate annually along the west coast, swimming 10,000 to 12,000 miles round-trip between the seas off Alaska and Baja California.
According to NOAA Fisheries, newborn gray whale calves are approximately 14 to 16 feet long and weigh about 2,000 pounds
