Amorous gray whales put on many-hour show

Whale watchers in Orange County had another good weekend. The gray whales are swimming back up the coast from Mexico, headed for Alaskan waters. On Sunday, a male and female did the courtship dance for several hours alongside and under a Dana Point whale-watch boat and other craft full of amazed onlookers. In the video below, the whales even appear to rub against a sailboat and set it to rocking. Pete Thomas has more at Grind TV, and reports at his own website today that volunteer spotters for the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project on the Palos Verdes Peninsula tallied 27 northbound grays and two humpbacks — "including one that breached at least 18 times" — on Monday.

Adds Thomas: "If this whale parade isn't enough, several larger fin whales and even a blue whale or two have been feeding in Southland waters."