Sometimes a "bonus" bucket list animal is sighted during our winter and spring Killer Whale Quests, and one pf them is called a "Northern Right Whale Dolphin"! The name derives from their superficial resemblance to a Northern Right Whale, where really the only shared characteristic is both species are totally lacking in dorsal fins. If "Northern Right Whale Dolphin" is a mouthful, the species's scientific name is Lissodelphis borealis, sometimes shortened to "Lissos".
On Friday Jan 10th, we saw a pod of hundreds of Lissos, and they were porpoising, even stampeding through the air and coming over to bow ride, giving passengers plenty of opportunities for a media capture of this extremely unique looking animal.
This type of dolphin is found only in deep water and is a seasonal visitor to southern California when water temps drop into the low 60s to 50s.
So if you're really lucky, you may see TWO black and white dolphins in one day as our Jan 10th passengers did. Killer Whales and Lissodelphis!
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