Hundreds Of Dolphins Stampede Alongside Newport Beach Tour Boat
NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) — Hundreds of dolphins began to stampede next to a tour boat in Newport Beach Friday.
The stampede was captured by Newport Whales which offers whale watching and dolphin tours all year in Southern California.
The pod of around 400 common dolphins swam alongside and in front of the Newport Coastal Adventure fast raft boat
According to Jessica Roame, Education Manager for Newport Landing & Davey's Locker Whale Watching, tiny dolphins could be seen next to larger dolphins, which is actually a mom and baby.
"When hundreds of dolphins do this together, we call this a stampede," said Roame. "We don't know exactly what causes common dolphins to stampede, but it's thought that the dolphins could be evading a predator, or they might be catching up to a food source."
Roame said Southern California is one of the best places in the world to see large pods of dolphins on a regular basis, as they are in Newport Beach year-round.