Science/Tech

Mysterious Seven-Mile-Long "Super Mega-Pod" of 100,000 Dolphins Spotted Off CA Coast

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Feb 19, 2013 12:20 PM EST

A "super-mega-pod" of over 100,000 dolphins was spotted Thursday off the coast of San Diego as they traveled together in a gigantic pack.

Joe Dutra, captain of Hornblower Cruises, who was out on his daily tour with a group of nature watchers said that the enormous pack of traveling dolphins must have been more than seven miles long and five miles wide.

"When you see something like that it is truly beyond belief," Dutra said after seeing the moving pod first hand, according to NBC San Diego.

"They were coming from all directions. You could see them from as far as the eye can see," he added. "I've seen a lot of stuff out here but this is the biggest I've ever seen, ever. You had to be there to experience it. It was truly spectacular"

Dolphins generally travel in packs of between 15 and 200 that are called pods. However, what the nature watchers spotted on Thursday is best described as a "super mega pod" given the sheer size of the group.

While experts do not known exactly why so many of the marine mammals were traveling together on this particular day, some believe that the dolphins may have grouped together to because of the area's abundant amount of food such as sardines, herring and squid.

"They're attracted to the same thing, they might wind up in the same place," marine expert Sarah Wilkin told NBC. "They're social animals, they stick together in small groups. Sometimes, the schools come together."

Although the super dolphin pod may seem like a very rare occurrence, experts said that a very similar flock of thousands of dolphins were seem swimming together February 2012 about 65 miles north of San Diego, suggesting that there may be an unknown migratory pattern that dolphins take on each year.

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