Thanks to warm coastal waters and the developing El Niño, Southern California is seeing an influx of sea creatures not commonly found in the region.
Last month, a hammerhead shark was captured on video near the Malibu Pier; they’re typically found in warm, tropical and subtropical coastal waters.
Then, on Wednesday, a pilot working with Southern California’s commercial fishing industry recorded footage of a lone whale shark between Malibu and Santa Barbara Island.
“A friend of mine found this whale shark while he was out scouting, and I was nearby, so I went over and grabbed my camera and, with my airplane, flew circles around the shark,” Carl Sbarounis told KTLA.
Aerial view of the whale shark off the coast of Malibu on Sept. 9, 2026. ((Carl Sbarounis/IG: airpilikia))
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world and, like hammerheads, are commonly found in warm, tropical waters – not California. Sbarounis estimated the shark was between 14 and 16 feet long, relatively small considering the species can grow to about 61 feet.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” said Dr. Chris Lowe of the California State University Shark Lab. “Normally when we have these strong El Niños, we get these subtropical visitors that come up from Mexico, which include whale sharks and manta rays, and smooth hammerheads. We’ll even occasionally get bull sharks and tiger sharks.”
Unlike many other shark species, whale sharks do not have sharp, menacing teeth and feed only on plankton. They are considered harmless to humans – except perhaps to boaters, Lowe said.
“We have to remember that these animals behave differently than our normal cast of characters. So, if you’re running your boat really fast and there are whale sharks around, if you hit one, it’s literally like hitting ground,” he said. “People have to be more cautious.”
On his Instagram account, Sbarounis also posted rare footage of a “fever,” or school, of giant rays off the Orange County coast. He estimated each ray had a wingspan of about 10 feet.
“I’ve never seen as many as I’m seeing right now coming through Southern California,” he said. “Literally hundreds if not thousands of them from San Diego to Catalina.”
A school of rays are seen from above off the coast of Orange County. (Carl Sbarounis/IG: airpilikia)
Climatologists say an extraordinarily strong El Niño is developing in the eastern tropical Pacific, affecting ocean temperatures and weather patterns thousands of miles away. Temperatures along the Southern California coast are currently 3 to 5 degrees above average, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Nate Jaros, vice president of animal care at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, said the influx of tropical sea life will only be temporary – so enjoy them while you can.
“We are going to go into our fall season. Our warmer water months are always going to be a little bit behind the air temperature months, so we’ll likely see this through September and into early October,” Jaros told KTLA. “Then things are going to start to cool down, and those big, large pelagic subtropical species are going to follow that water back down.”
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