Passengers aboard a whale watching tour off the coast of California got a rare treat recently when they witnessed a large dolphin stampede. The tour was being conducted off of Southern Cal's Dana Point by a company called Dolphin Safari when they came across a large pod of the creatures swimming near the surface. The result was a spectacular show of wildlife churning through the water that has to be seen to be believed.

Fortunately, someone aboard the ship had a video camera on hand and captured some footage from the phenomenon. The video was posted on YouTube a few days back and has already been viewed over 400,000 times. It features more than 1000 dolphins swimming along at high speed as they "stampede" out into the ocean. There is even footage that was taken from one of the boat's underwater viewing pods, giving viewers an excellent look at the action.

Filed under: North America, United States, Video, Ecotourism