7 mile long, 5 mile wide "super mega-pod" of dolphins spotted off coast of San Diego, CA

[Emily]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/thousands-of-dolphins-spotted-off-san-diego-video.html

Thousands of dolphins spotted off San Diego [Video]
February 18, 2013 | 7:13 a

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: 7 mile long, 5 mile wide "super mega-pod" of dolphins spotted off coast of San Diego, CA

Fascinating. A pod of dolphins usually numbers 15 - 20 animals, but this grouping was estimated to include @100,000 individuals and covered an area estimated to be 5 x 7 miles wide, which means that pods must have been called together from far and wide in response to..... I wonder what. But some clear signal - it is too much for this to have occurred by chance, and this would have been noticed before if it was a regular or periodic event.

 

[Emily]

Re: 7 mile long, 5 mile wide "super mega-pod" of dolphins spotted off coast of San Diego, CA

and this would have been noticed before if it was a regular or periodic event.

That's a good point, Vibrant. If this is periodic, it would have to be a very long period, with the last event dating back to when the coastal waters were much less crowded with human observers than they are now.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/artic...pods-dolphins-porpoises-whales-coastal-waters

What's causing big pods of dolphins, porpoises, whales in coastal waters?
Gloria GoodaleThe Christian Science Monitor
February 20, 2013

Are critters of the sea losing it? Uncharacteristic feeding behavior from dolphins and whales is grabbing the attention of scientists ? and the public ? and so far is prompting more questions than answers about what's going on in the ocean depths...

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: 7 mile long, 5 mile wide "super mega-pod" of dolphins spotted off coast of San Diego, CA

I wonder if the pod is still together and still being monitored? That number of animals would have trouble finding adequate food if it remained together too long.