See a Rare ‘Super Pod’ of More Than 1,500 Risso’s Dolphins Spotted off the Coast of California
Whale-watching tour operators encountered the mass gathering of cetaceans while looking for migrating gray whales
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Risso’s dolphins are deep-diving aquatic mammals that typically swim in groups of 10 to 30 individuals. But late last month, more than 1,500 of them congregated off the coast of central California, creating an unusual and awe-inspiring spectacle for human observers.
Staff with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, a whale-watching tour operator, captured drone footage of the “super pod” of Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) frolicking in Carmel Bay on January 24. The company’s 20-foot, inflatable scouting boat was cruising along the coast south of Monterey, surveying migrating gray whales, when they came across the Risso’s dolphins.
At first, the small crew thought they were seeing a few hundred dolphins. But when they put up a drone, they realized they were actually looking at more than 1,500 of the cetaceans.
“It was just an amazing sight,” says Evan Brodsky, who was captaining the boat that day and captured the drone footage, to KSBW’s Zoe Hunt. “Just little white dots everywhere, and every single one of those white dots was a dolphin.”
The aquatic mammals were gliding through the water, breaching, slapping their tails and generally “having a great time,” says Colleen Talty, a marine biologist who was on the vessel, to the Associated Press’ Hallie Golden. Both adults and juveniles joined in on the fun.
“They looked like they were having a big party,” she adds.
Some of the dolphins performed a technique known as “bow riding,” which involves swimming in front of a boat and using its pressure waves to propel themselves through the water.
Once they realized how many dolphins were in the area, the crew drove the small boat straight ahead, taking care not to make any sudden movements that could potentially injure one of the marine mammals.
“It was a really memorable encounter that I won’t forget for a long time,” Brodsky tells the AP.
It’s not clear why so many Risso’s dolphins had gathered along the coast. But the Monterey Bay Whale Watch team suspects several smaller pods had joined together to head south. They were likely taking advantage of the ultra-deep waters of Monterey Canyon, an up to 2.5-mile-deep underwater crevasse that extends for 292 miles offshore.
“These cetaceans generally prefer deeper offshore waters, especially near the continental shelf edge and slope, where they can dive to at least 1,000 feet and hold their breath for 30 minutes,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Risso’s dolphins live throughout the world’s tropical and temperate seas, where they feast on anchovies, krill, squid, octopus and other prey. They are medium-sized dolphins, weighing between 660 and 1,100 pounds and measuring up to 13 feet long. Adults’ bodies are usually covered in scars—from the teeth of other dolphins, as well as cookie-cutter sharks and lampreys—and they have a distinctive, bulbous head shape.
Though these creatures are not considered endangered or threatened, they do face myriad hazards, including entanglement in commercial fishing gear, underwater noise and pollution. They are also hunted for meat and oil in several parts of the world, including in the Caribbean, Indonesia, Japan, the Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka.
The Monterey Bay Whale Watch team decided to share footage of the super pod on social media “so people know [the dolphins are] in their backyard here,” Brodsky tells KSBW.
