A large fin whale has lingered off the Dana Point area in Orange County for at least the last three days and on Sunday a passenger aboard a Dana Wharf Whale Watch vessel described its behavior as "Just chillin'."
In the accompanying footage, captured from aboard the Dana Pride, the sleek leviathan does indeed seem laid-back as it stretches out alongside the 95-foot vessel. The crew estimated its length at 70 feet and nicknamed the whale Finnegan. It was sighted only 1.5 miles from Dana Point Harbor.
Fin whales are the planet's second-largest whales, behind blue whales. In the northern hemisphere they grow to nearly 80 feet and can weigh up to about 70 tons.
They feed on shrimp-like krill and small fish, and are known to circle schooling fish at high speed, forcing the schools into tight balls. The whales then turn onto their right sides to engulf the fish. Fin whales have been referred to as the "greyhounds of the sea" and can swim in bursts of up to 23 mph.
As viewers can see, they're also capable of lounging around, relaxing, or in this case: just chillin'.
Well, I wasn't there to see it. I asked the crew for an estimate and published what I was told ... as an estimate.
Posted by: Pete Thomas | Dec 30, 2012 at 08:24 PM
Awesome video, but that's an awfully tiny whale for 70 feet.
Posted by: Kris Finn | Dec 30, 2012 at 07:44 PM