PHOTOS: Dana Point’s wandering whale
Spectators stake out a spot on Dana Point’s rock jetty to watch a wandering 35- to 40-foot whale, estimated to weigh about 30 tons. A marine biologist says the lethargic, emaciated whale appeared close to death and could have been up to 60 years old.
See full story (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Water sprays from the blowhole of the gray whale, which wandered into Dana Point Harbor and briefly navigated its way out of the harbor before circling back into port and then heading out to sea again.
See full story (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Spectators snap photographs of the whale. After leaving and returning, it finally swam out of the harbor toward Doheny Beach, where it was last spotted.
See full story (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
A Chihuahua named Dulce clings to her owner, Esther J. Williams, as the whale passes by. A marine biologist says whales wander into the harbor about once a year, but usually they are infants who lose their way on their annual migration from the warm waters of Baja California, Mexico, where they spend the winter, to their feeding grounds in Alaska and the Arctic.
See full story (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
An Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol boat takes a closer look at at the whale as it floats near the jetty at Dana Point Harbor. Whales in the harbor are a danger to boats, officials say, and boats are a danger to whales.
See full story (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
