Over the past week, a giant pod of dolphins has been spotted a few miles off the Central Coast, giving those lucky enough to be out on whale watching excursions a glimpse at thousands of the frolicking mammals.
On Monday, Avila Beach Whale Watching posted a video of one of the massive pods churning the waters right off the California coast. “The 7:30 is a beautiful time to be on the water,” it said. “Today on both trips we found this pod of several hundred Pacific Common Dolphins. I have never seen so many babies (calves) in a pod at once.”
That post was created by Mark Kocina, a boat captain and owner of the company. Kocina told SFGATE on Tuesday morning that in the 15 years since he started the company, he’s never seen anything close to the dolphin activity that he’s seen over the past couple of weeks.
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While it is not unusual to see dolphin activity surge here several times a summer, the sheer number of dolphins he’s seeing right now, he said, is “exceptional.”
FILE: A super-pod of dolphins has been hanging out near the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Getty Images/Cavan Images RF
It’s also about what the dolphins do once they spot the boat: “They come over to engage with us and play with us, and they’re grabbing fish as they go,” he told SFGATE.
Kocina, a naturalist who has worked on boats for the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the past, said he believes these dolphins are part of a “mega-pod” of up to 10,000 animals usually based down near Oxnard and the Channel Islands. He thinks there’s a chance that a large swath of that pod, perhaps more than 1,000 dolphins, has temporarily broken off and headed a little farther north.
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He said that a pod of 200-300 dolphins spotted a few times a year is not unusual, but the recent sightings far exceed those numbers.
“For about a week, we’ve had, at times, several thousand dolphins,” he estimated. “A mile-wide swath of the dolphins — even farther as far as you can see.”
Another surprise about the giant pod, he said, is the prolific number of babies he’s spotted over the past several days.
“A few days ago, it was incredible. I have not seen that in 15 years on the water,” Kocina said, referring to the outsized number of the youngest members of the pod. “[Dolphins] mate year round, so there are always some little ones, and they’re this unique thing to point out, jumping out right next to mom.”
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Recently, however, the numbers of young ones have climbed up into the dozens. “It’s the first time I’ve seen them all together like that, almost like a nursery — just incredible,” Kocina continued.
The passengers out on these recent trips have “been astounded,” Kocina said.
FILE: The whale watching ship “The Sea Wolf II” brings visitors to watch a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins on Monterey Bay.
SOPA Images/Getty
“It’s beautiful, and sometimes I play the theme to ‘Jurassic Park’ when we’re seeing something amazing,” he continued, describing often tear-filled reactions. “There’s definitely some type of interspecies connection. People feel very drawn to them. We can tell they’re wanting to play with the boat. By law, we can’t approach them, but they turn and race over to play with us. They want to interact, and I think people feel that. It’s pretty joyous.”
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As far as how unusual this type of dolphin activity is, this pod activity seems notable. In January 2025, a group of a couple hundred dolphins was spotted offshore near Point Lobos. Evan Brodsky, a captain with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, and Colleen Talty, a marine biologist, went to take a closer look and found a much bigger cohort.
“We got there and realized there were a lot more than a few hundred,” Brodsky told SFGATE.
Brodsky was able to get drone footage of the pod exploring the waters near Carmel: “There were thousands of dolphins, about 1,500 or more, just little white dots everywhere on my screen,” he said.
That notable pod was made up of several smaller groups who likely “came together for a big social gathering,” Talty said.
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Brodsky said he hoped the footage of that large sighting would help raise awareness of the dolphins’ continued plight. “It’s important to me, because unfortunately, these dolphins are still hunted in some parts of the world, and still collected for the really abusive captive industry,” he said. “So it’s really special to see them wild and free and promote seeing them wild and free.”
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Word is spreading fast about this early-summer phenomenon.
“It’s always full,” Kocina said of his boat. “We only take six at a time, so it’s never crowded, but you have to book ahead with us. …We’re considering expanding. Right now, everyone’s calling wanting to go.”
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SFGATE national parks reporter Sam Mauhay-Moore contributed to this story.