A group of whale watchers at Dana Point witnessed a rare event as a false killer whale gave birth beside their boat. Thanks to their captain, Tom Southern noticed a pod of about 40 female whales swimming towards his boat.
Southern, a veteran whale-watching captain, spotted the false killer whales pushing against the Manute'a and knew that something unusual is going to happen — something that he has not seen in the many years that he's been manning his ship.
"The females came up right next to the boat and all started pushing at the side," Southern shared. He saw a spurt of blood and he initially thought that they caught something but he was surprised to see that a baby whale came out. "He was about two- and-half feet-long and his fins were all folded together. He was lying on his side and flopping around like a fish," the captain from San Clemente added.
Aside from the birthing, Southern also observed how the female false killer whales gathered around the baby whale. He noted that the females were helping the newborn stay afloat. While the newborn whale struggled to swim for about 10 minutes, he eventually got his rhythm and started swimming around.
Southern who works for Capt. Dave's Dolphin Safari and Whale Watch informed other nearby boats of the spectacular event and soon whale watchers flocked and watched the calf enjoy his first dives.
Nobody knows if there were any commercially reported sightings of a false whale giving birth. One of those who witnessed the event after Capt. Southern radioed, Capt. Frank Brennan, said that it was also the first time that he saw such birth. Capt. Brennan has worked for Dana Wharf Sportfishing for 19 years.
"This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen," Southern said. He added that the event was remarkable as false killer whales are rarely seen in the area.
Pseudorcas or false killer whales have physical similarities with killer whales but belong to the dolphin family. Newborns are usually less than five feet long but can grow to as much as 20 feet in length.
