Dolphin stampede wows tourists off California coast

Tourists on a whale-watching tour off the coast of Orange County were witnesses to a spectacular dolphin stampede recently.

A mega-pod of almost 2,000 dolphins splashed in the ocean alongside their boat, the Dana Pride.

While a sighting like this is rare, the Ocean Institute claims that these short-beaked common dolphins can be "found in tremendously large pod sizes of 5,000 or more."

In response to some YouTube commenters' criticisms — and Discovery's similar concerns — that the dolphins appear frightened by the boat, Petethomasoutdoors.com posted the following:

"Apparently, many people are not familiar with a phenomenon that is spectacular, but not uncommon. Common dolphins are famous for chasing after boats — often from great distances — to swim in their wakes and leap alongside them."

The blog post continues, "The reality is, when large pods of common dolphins are close to a moving boat, it's virtually impossible to avoid these types of encounters. The mammals do seem to enjoy the interaction, and they're amazingly adept at avoiding moving vessels."