Captain Dave Anderson recently took his DJI Phantom 2 for a spin off the coast of San Clemente, California and spotted something amazing. As the drone took flight, it captured the amazing sight of thousands of common dolphins stampeding towards the Pacific Ocean. And then came the humpback whales.
It’s not unusual for Capt. Dave to come across dolphins and whales. After all, he does run a business called Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari. But this time was different. “This is the most beautiful and compelling five minute video I have ever put together,” Dave explained in his YouTube post. “I learned so much about these whales and dolphins from this drone footage that it feels like I have entered a new dimension!”
Well, it looks like it, too. As if the dolphin stampede isn’t impressive enough, the uniquely intimate shots of humpback whales with their youths is nothing short of gorgeous. It took a bit of sacrifice to get them, too. Capt. Dave actually lost another one of his drones while trying to capture the dolphins and whales that day. It clipped an antennae on his boat and then sunk.
But a lost drone is worth it. “I have not been this excited about a new technology since we built our underwater viewing pods on our whale watching boat,” Dave said. “Drones are going to change how we view the animal world.” He added, “My wife says no more drones if I lose this one. But she said that before I lost the other one.”