Hundreds of dolphins stampede through Southern California waters

Some 300 dolphins were caught on camera Sunday stampeding across the ocean near Dana Point, thrilling a group of whale watchers.

The minutes-long video captured by Capt. Dave’s Whale Watching Safari shows dolphins leaping several feet into the air above the glistening waters, wowing those aboard the boat. The story was first reported by the Orange County Register.

It isn’t exactly clear why pods of dolphins stampede, but the charter company had a few theories.

“It’s thought that the dolphins could be evading a predator such as orcas, racing to catch a food source, or meeting up with another pod of dolphins,” Capt. Dave’s said in a statement.

Dolphin sightings off the Orange County coastline are not uncommon. A dolphin pod caught stampeding in waters near Laguna Beach made news around the world last year.

Southern California is home to nearly 450,000 common dolphins, the species captured on video Sunday.