Marisa O'Neil
Some say they're porpoises without a purpose. Others wonder if their
sonar got jammed. And still others say they're just enjoying an ocean
feast.
Whatever the case, a group of two to four animals, which are most
likely dolphins, are frolicking just north of the Pacific Coast
Highway bridge in the Back Bay, attracting a lot of attention. The
animals have been swimming in circles there for more than two weeks,
watchers said.
"People sure are enjoying the heck out of them," said Terese
Pearson of Pearson's Port fish market. "I find myself stopping work
and just watching them."
The animals have found their turf, for the time being, in a small
area just north of Pearson's Port, which sits on a small dock in the
bay. John Scholl, environmental scientist at the Back Bay Science
Center, said that he hasn't seen the animals, but after seeing photos
he thought they might be bottlenose dolphins, which often swim close
to shore.
A few kayakers and other boaters gathered around the area Saturday
afternoon, waiting for a peek. From time to time, two animals graced
onlookers with a quick breach of their graceful backs and dorsal fins
before diving back into the murky water.
"I got about five feet away," said Irvine resident Mike Saylor,
who rented a kayak with his family. "They're petite little things."
Two men fishing in the area said they've seen four dolphins there
for at least a week. Fisherman Tom Benham, of Orange, said he thought
they could be two baby dolphins and two adults.
Some people have come to rent kayaks at nearby Southwind Kayak
Rentals to see the animals, said employee Jon Smith. Workers there
tell those who haven't heard about the visitors to keep their eyes
peeled for them on the water, he said.
People have conjectured that the animals came in the bay looking
for food and lost their way, he said.
The first part of that hypothesis is likely true but probably not
the rest, said Michele Hunter, director of the Pacific Marine Mammal
Center, formerly known as Friends of the Sea Lion, in Laguna Beach.
Hunter hasn't seen the animals herself, she said, but has received a
number of calls about them from concerned citizens.
"They're probably taking advantage of the feeding back there,"
Hunter said. "They found a good buffet."
That area has "tons of smelt," Pearson said, and the dolphins seem
to be getting bigger, a sign they're eating well and not in distress.
People come into her shop, worried about the visitors, she said.
But she sees dolphins in the area a few times a year and these seem
to be thriving, she said.
"They're happy little guys and they're fun to watch," she said.
Scholl said he hasn't seen dolphins that far inside the bay, but
agreed they may have found a prime feeding spot. Even if they have
lost their way, he said, catching dolphins and redirecting them is
not easy.
Officers with the Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol in Newport
Beach said they don't have plans to try to chase the animals out.
"It's best to let them find their way out," Scholl said. "If they
go any further up [the bay] they would be in a freshwater
environment, and they should sense that."
* MARISA O'NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be
reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.
