Gray Whale visits students at Manhattan Beach Pier Roundhouse Aquarium
A gray whale swims alongside the Manhattan Beach pier. Photo by Mike Balzer
Kindergarten students visiting the Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the Manhattan Beach pier received an unexpected visit from a migrating gray whale Thursday morning. Local action sports photographer Mike Balzer said the whale approached the pier from the south, just outside the surfline. After chasing a stand-up paddler from the water, the whale swam out to the aquarium at the end of the pier and as the students waved goodbye, swam off to the north. Photos by Mike Balzer.