Baby Gray Whale Splashes Off Seal Beach, Hundreds Watch

SEAL BEACH, CA — Residents shared their feelings of excitement and concern for a baby gray whale seen just off the coast, playing in the Pacific over the weekend.

The Orange County Register shared the comments of Marine Animal Rescue founder Peter Wallerstein, who said the creature prefers shallow water. "People sometimes worry that they might get beached, but they are doing what comes naturally to them," he told the Register. The 16-foot creature did not exhibit signs of distress, according to Seal Beach Marine Safety Officer Michael Diller.

Resident Michelle Leivas shared the video of the experience and her awe with the Seal Beach Facebook group.

"It was a once in a lifetime event to see such a rare creature up close," she said. The whale was seen spouting and fluking, as it "used the beach to scrape barnacles from its body," some observers noted.

The Register reported that the creature was most likely swimming in 5- to 8-foot-deep water, as "the shore's depth falls off rapidly at that portion of the beach" where the whale was swimming.

The whale was in the area for a few hours before it headed back out to sea.

"I felt blessed to see such beauty in the wild," Leivas told us, "and not in a captive pool."

Photo, courtesy Michelle Leivas