Enjoying the sea’s bounty in Southern California

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The wildest side of Los Angeles may be about three miles offshore, where whale watchers are enjoying an unusually diverse and abundant assortment of marine mammals plying the relatively calm seas.

“We are always in the midst of sea mammals in Southern California, and can expect to see three to four whales a trip,” said Michele Sousa, senior mammal biologist at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. “But right now, we’re seeing three types of whales — fin whales, gray whales, humpback whales — as well as orcas, or killer whales, Gulf porpoises, Pacific white-sided dolphins and elephant seals, which are quite unusual.’

“It is not known why there are so many marine mammals out there,” she said. “But the speculation is that there is more available food for them. The orcas, for example, are feeding on sea lions.”

The local whale watching season — and best time to photograph their seasonal parade past the nation’s busiest port complex — began Dec. 26 and continues through March.

The Aquarium of the Pacific offers marine wildlife boat trips throughout the year.

-- Louis Sahagun