On Sunday, February 2nd, ABC News shared a video on TikTok that was taken by Captain Evan Brodsky of the Monterey Bay Whale Watch team. The video showed an extremely rare super pod of more than 1,500 dolphins swimming off the central coast of California. It’s truly a sight to see.
Those who witnessed it firsthand were astonished. Captain Brodsky shared, “They were on the horizon, I feel like as far as I could see.” The drone footage of the massive gathering of Risso’s dolphins was taken last Friday, and the super pod did stretch for miles. Watch on to see the incredible video.
Click here to watch the video.
ABC News explained in the video’s caption, “The sighting was rare: Risso’s dolphins typically travel in groups of only 10 to 30 animals, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” I’ve covered a lot of ABC News’ TikToks, and normally viewers don’t leave many comments. But this one had people talking with nearly 500 comments left about the stunning sight.
Why were these dolphins in such a huge pod? @Kerosheyah saw some kind of impending doom, “Warning comes before destruction.” @Verity pointed out, “In theory, they can detect vibrations or sounds associated with seismic activity in the days or hours leading up to an earthquake.” @Lenny agreed, “At first I was wowed, but then I read that the usual pod size is 10, making this unusual or “strange” behavior. Now I’m worried.” @Bethie wondered, “Is this a good sign, or a “So long and thanks for all the fish” sign?”
Others were more optimistic about the meaning. @Kennedy shared, “A pod of dolphins inspires us to improve our communication skills, community and listen with love and empathy. A symbol of unity.” @Robbie and several others had similar experiences, “I saw this once in Malibu. It lasted hours. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” @Edward McGlaze added, “This was a normal pod size a few hundred years ago.”
Related: Woman Wins Australia Surf Competition After Riding Wave With a Pod of Dolphins
Facts About Risso’s Dolphins
I know that there are several different kinds of dolphins swimming around in our oceans, but I had never heard of Risso’s dolphins before. I headed to Google and was led to NOAA Fisheries. There, I read some interesting facts about Risso’s dolphins, including this first fact that seemed to be conflicting, “Risso’s dolphins are generally found in groups of 10 to 30 animals. They are solitary individuals, sometimes in pairs or loose aggregations of hundreds and thousands. Occasionally, they also associate with other dolphins and whales.” So maybe this wasn’t as unusual as we thought since this is an occasional occurrence.
Another interesting fact was that although they’re found in many oceans and seas, nobody is quite sure about their migration patterns, “Risso’s dolphins migrate to cooler regions during the summer months. However, their migration patterns are yet to be found.”
Often referred to as grey dolphins, Risso’s dolphins in the United States are not endangered or threatened. Like all marine mammals, they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Major threats to their numbers include entanglement in fishing nets, hunting, contaminants humans dump into the ocean, and interestingly, ocean noise. NOAA explains, “Underwater noise threatens Risso’s dolphin populations, interrupting their normal behavior and driving them away from areas important to their survival. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause this species to strand and ultimately die.”
In the coming days, we’ll see if this rare super pod was just a cool sight to see or if there will be a natural event like an earthquake. I sure hope not; California has already had its fair share of disasters this year.
