When a young California gray whale made a pitstop in a southern California harbor Tuesday morning, crowds of people gathered to watch the young mammal as it swam with and entertained beach goers.

The whale was first spotted swimming into Dana Point Harbor in the early morning by a paddle boarder and did not leave until the midafternoon. Local wildlife photographer Mark Girardeau captured aerial video of the whale where it can be seen swimming close to the shore only a few feet from dry sand.

Posting about the incident on its Facebook page, one whale-watching group involved in monitoring the whale's habits noted it looked remarkably skinny. In an interview with a local NBC affiliate, Justin Greenman,