{"id":1841,"date":"2013-02-20T18:58:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=1841"},"modified":"2013-02-20T18:58:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T18:58:00","slug":"boaters-encounter-mega-pod-of-thousands-of-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/boaters-encounter-mega-pod-of-thousands-of-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"Boaters encounter mega-pod of thousands of dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On his daily tour, Capt. Joe Dutra of Hornblower Cruises in California encountered what he called a “super mega-pod” of thousands of swimming dolphins that he estimated to be five miles wide and seven miles long. Dolphins’ social groups usually number no more than 200 individuals, but abundant resources could bring multiple pods together, said scientist Sarah Wilkin. “They were coming from all directions — you could see them from as far as the eye can see,” Dutra said. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff out here … but this is the biggest I’ve ever seen, ever.”<\/em><\/strong> KNSD-TV (San Diego)<\/a><\/p>\n

Thousands of dolphins spanning across 7 miles of ocean were\u00a0 sighted off the coast of San Diego on Thursday, a boat captain told NBC 7 San\u00a0 Diego.<\/p>\n

Capt. Joe Dutra of Hornblower Cruises<\/a> said he saw a \u201csuper mega-pod\u201d of common\u00a0 dolphins Thursday around noon while he was on his daily tour. He said the pod\u00a0 was more than 7 miles long and 5 miles wide.<\/p>\n

Dutra said the boat tour followed the pod for more than an\u00a0 hour and said he\u2019s never seen anything like it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see something that is honestly truly beyond\u00a0 belief,\u201d the captain said.<\/p>\n

Guests aboard the boat started screaming and pointing when\u00a0 they first saw the school of adult and juvenile common dolphins. Dutra estimated\u00a0 there were about 100,000 dolphins swimming in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were coming from all directions, you could see them\u00a0 from as far as the eye can see,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of stuff out here\u2026 but this is the biggest I\u2019ve ever seen, ever.\u201d Whale and dolphin watching tours have done particularly<\/a> well this year, with\u00a0 dozens of animal sightings reported.<\/p>\n

Marine mammal expert Sarah Wilkin said the reason the large\u00a0 pod might be there is because there\u2019s plenty of food in the area, including\u00a0 sardines, herring and squid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re attracted to kind of the same thing, they might wind\u00a0 up in the same place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Though dolphins typically travel in groups of 200 or less,\u00a0 Wilkin said \u201csuper-pods\u201d are not unheard of.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re definitely social animals, they stick together in\u00a0 small groups,\u201d she said. \u201cBut sometimes, the schools come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dutra, who\u2019s been boating for decades, said he felt lucky to\u00a0 enjoy such a rare phenomenon.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had to be there to experience it,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u00a0 was truly spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.nbcsandiego.com\/news\/local\/Thousands-of-Dolphins-Spotted-Near-San-Diego-191455121.html#ixzz2LT1k1wdb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On his daily tour, Capt. Joe Dutra of Hornblower Cruises in California encountered what he called a “super mega-pod” of thousands of swimming dolphins that he estimated to be five miles wide and seven miles long. Dolphins’ social groups usually number no more than 200 individuals, but abundant resources could bring multiple pods together, said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBoaters encounter mega-pod of thousands of dolphins | The Animal Health Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/boaters-encounter-mega-pod-of-thousands-of-dolphins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boaters encounter mega-pod of thousands of dolphins | The Animal Health Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On his daily tour, Capt. 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