Two large grey whales thrilled a tour group with their up-close antics off an Orange County coast final week, bobbing, rolling, and even flashing their tails inside a number of toes of the small raft.

Consultants name the conduct “mugging,” and it shows the form of mild curiosity that has earned the species the nickname “pleasant whales.” The size and proximity of the encounter, which occurred Thursday night off the coast of Newport Seaside, excited even veterans on the whale watching firm that organized the tour.

Jessica Roame, who leads education schemes for Newport Coastal Journey, referred to as it one of many firm’s “most epic grey whale encounters of all time.” Roame emailed KTLA sister station KSWB to share movies and clarify what occurred.

Clips recorded on cell telephones present the huge creatures bobbing just under the floor alongside a small “quick raft” vessel holding about 15 folks. Whale-watchers gasp and giggle because the whales blow from their blowholes, maintain their heads above water and calmly lull back and forth.

At one level, one of many whales lifts its tail within the air, trying as if it’d splash again down proper in entrance of the raft. “Splash us,” somebody on the boat excitedly says. However the tail angles away from the boat because it chops again down into the water.

Roame mentioned the tour group floated alongside the whales for greater than 45 minutes. She emphasised that the raft’s engines had been powered off and that the tour information saved their distance till the creatures approached them, drifting at sea. It additionally helped that the vessel was one of many solely boats on the water on the time.

“Boaters ought to at all times be respectful, and transfer gradual when a whale is noticed, and hold your distance,” she wrote. “Sometimes, in case you are respectful, with engines off, these whales will strategy boaters on their very own accord like these two did, to test us out.”

Roame mentioned grey whales, which might attain lengths of as much as 49 toes and weigh as a lot as 60,000 kilos, are migrating north throughout March. The whales’ lengthy journey extends from their breeding waters in Mexico again dwelling to Alaska, passing California’s coast.

“It’s essential to emphasize that in this time within the 12 months, boaters needs to be cautious … and hold a pointy eye out for migrating grey whales, as a result of they’re on the transfer all alongside the coast proper now,” she wrote.

Whereas whale watching season affords loads of alternatives to catch a glimpse of the creatures, Roame described an up-close encounter like Thursday’s as “very uncommon.”

You may study extra about whale watching excursions on Newport Coastal Journey’s web site.