US: Young gray whale filmed swimming under unsuspecting surfers

A video showing a very curious whale swimming under unsuspecting surfers in Dana Point, California has recently gone viral. One never knows what might be lurking in the deep open ocean, or in this case, right under your surfboards! A teenager at Dana Point captured a very rare moment of Monday, November 11, when a seemingly curious young grey whale decided to take a swim under a group of unsuspecting surfers at Doheny State Beach.

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Caught on drone

The young grey whale decided to swim under the unsuspecting surfers as they were waiting for waves near the rock jetty at a spot named Boneyards. Since being shared online the video has garnered thousands of views. Payton Landaas, who is a senior at San Juan Hills High School has recently started a drone video company called stealth photos and claimed he was checking the waves from a place near his home in Capo Beach when he saw what he recognized as a whale spout on the horizon. He immediately ran back to collect his drone and was able to fly it out there so that e could catch a glimpse of the young whale just cruising.

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Giving a scare

Payton said he lost the whale a couple of times when the whale dived pretty deep down. After spotting the whale, Payton was surprised as he noticed that the whale had begun wandering about 150 yards offshore towards a group of surfers that eagerly focused on the horizon awaiting the next big wave. The video clearly shows the juvenile whale just below the surface of the water as it slowly approaches the unsuspecting surfers who were on their boards. The whale can then be seen popping its head out and spouting from its blowhole. It went down again, with one surfer getting spooked and paddling quickly away when the whale’s tail appeared. Other surfers in the vicinity were reportedly oblivious to the whale's presence.

It is suspected that the grey whale was just starting out on its migration route, grey whales start their migration in local waters and then travel to Baja to breed. During their migration, they sometimes come close to shore — either out of curiosity or to rub their bodies on the sand to remove parasites that can be itchy on their skin.