I absolutely love that fin whales have chosen to spend their summer vacation in San Diego.
The coordinates have been consistent the past few days, with a congregation of fin whales hanging out in the same area. This indicates that they aren’t in travel mode; instead, they’re simply circling the area and meeting up.
On our sunset trip, we had seven magnificent fin whales surrounding the Inspiration at various distances. On our starboard side, a trio were spouting. However, our best sightings were with a pair of fins that appeared to be on their way to meet a third.
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, one of the closest pairs rolled on its side on top of the second fin whale, causing the white underside of its tail to be exposed above the surface of the ocean!
We’ve been observing similar behavior all week from the second-largest animals on Earth, and it seems to be courtship behavior. Which is extremely unusual and rare off our coastline.
We’re all crossing our fingers and toes and flukes to find the fin whales still in our waters tomorrow so that we can continue to observe the fins of summer.
-Naturalist Ruth
