Photo Courtesy of Antonio Ramirez

Antonio Ramirez, who was aboard a Hornblower Cruise on Thursday, snapped this photo of the dolphins swimming in a "super mega-pod."

Thousands of dolphins spanning across seven miles of ocean were sighted off the coast of San Diego on Thursday, a boat captain told NBC 7 San Diego.

Capt. Joe Dutra of Hornblower Cruises said he saw a “super mega-pod” of common dolphins Thursday around noon while he was on his daily tour. He said the pod was more than seven miles long and five miles wide.

Dutra said the boat tour followed the pod for more than an hour and said he’s never seen anything like it.

“When you see something that is honestly truly beyond belief,” the captain said.

Guests aboard the boat started screaming and pointing when they first saw the school of adult and juvenile common dolphins. Dutra estimated there were about 100,000 dolphins swimming in the area.

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“They were coming from all directions, you could see them from as far as the eye can see,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff out here… but this is the biggest I’ve ever seen, ever.”

Whale and dolphin watching tours have done particularly well this year, with dozens of animal sightings reported.

Marine mammal expert Sarah Wilkin said the reason the large pod might be there is because there’s plenty of food in the area, including sardines, herring and squid.

“They’re attracted to kind of the same thing, they might wind up in the same place,” she said.

Though dolphins typically travel in groups of 200 or less, Wilkin said “super-pods” are not unheard of.

“They’re definitely social animals, they stick together in small groups,” she said. “But sometimes, the schools come together.”

Dutra, who’s been boating for decades, said he felt lucky to enjoy such a rare phenomenon.

“You had to be there to experience it,” he said.  “It was truly spectacular.”

Julia Cumes / AP

Two stranded common dolphins wait to be transported by an International Fund for Animal Welfare team at Herring River in Wellfleet, Mass., Jan. 19. The dolphins are two in the latest batch of dolphins found, bringing a total of over 80 stranded on Cape Cod shores in the last week.

More than 80 common and Atlantic white sided dolphins have been stranded along 25 miles of Cape Cod coastline since Jan. 12 according to International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The animal welfare advocates are perplexed by the current situation along the scenic shores south of Boston because it is one of the largest cases of dolphins stranding themselves in years.

January through April is the typical season for multiple beaching of dolphins and Cape Cod is among the top locations for the phenomenon worldwide, but Katie Moore, manager of IFAW's marine mammal rescue and research said this pattern is unlike past years.

"It feels like stranding after stranding after stranding," she said. "It's definitely out of the ordinary."

Despite many groups being stranded, Boston.com reports the IFAW has helped more than 300 dolphins swim out of Wellfleet harbor.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related links:

• Keep up with IFAW's dolphin saving efforts

Julia Cumes / AP

An International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) team carries a stranded common dolphin to a waiting vehicle while another waits to be rescued at Herring River in Wellfleet, Mass., Jan. 19.

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