Largest sea creature on planet spotted off CA coast. See the ‘marvelous treat’

Bystanders got the chance to join the 1% club after spotting the largest sea creature on the planet and the group is calling it a “marvelous treat” in California, officials said.

On May 1, a group set out in Laguna Beach and spotted a pair of humpback whales, according to a Facebook post by Dana Wharf Whale Watch.

They could “easily see the telltale hump on the leading edge of the dorsal fin” and got the chance to see the whales’ flukes come out of the water, the group said.

As they continued further into their excursion, “there it was” — the season’s first blue whale, officials said.

In the distance, and about four miles from shore, the group spotted the “largest, and loudest, and longest animal to ever live on the planet,” officials said.

Blue whales can weigh up to 330,000 pounds and grow to 110 feet long, making their length about the same as the height of a 10-story building, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

They can live up to 90 years though there was one that famously lived to be 110-years-old, according to the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

The whale watching group gave out its coveted “blue whale buttons” and congratulated the “privileged” group on their sighting, officials said.

Dana Point is about a 60-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Largest sea creature on planet spotted off CA coast. See the ‘marvelous treat’."