Having a whale of a time! Spectacular drone footage captures gray whales mating off the California coast

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This is the moment some of the planet's biggest mammals came together off the California coast.

The incredible footage was shot off Newport Beach in the Pacific Ocean and shows three whales procreating.

Mark Girardeau captured the rare footage using a drone as he sailed nearby in boat. 

Drone footage caught a rare moment as three gray whales – yes, they mate in threes – were caught in the act during their annual migration down to the warm-water lagoons in Baja

The video shows gray whales mating and at one point you can actually see the whales penis which is nicknamed 'Pink Floyd' by many whale watchers.

It was previously thought that it takes three whales to mate and that the third whale actually helps push the active male and almost be used as a headboard, but recent studies have proven that to be incorrect and that it only takes one male and one female to mate. 

However, when there is a third whale in the mix, the whale is possibly waiting to get a chance if something doesn't work out between the other two or possibly flush out the other competition as they have large testes and it can be a sperm competition. 

Never mind that a drone was hovering above, the footage managed to capture the intimate act between the whales

With Valentine's Day  just a week away, love is in the waters

Giradeau and his team were six miles away from the the shore as he sent his drone soaring into the skies above to capture the intimate moments. 

'It felt kind of weird flying on them while they were doing their thing,' said photographer and drone operator Mark Girardeau, who was aboard a Davey's Locker charter boat to Mercury News. 

'I figured I'd keep filming. It's something not a lot of people get to see unless you watch National Geographic or an animal wildlife documentary. It was pretty special.

'The whales almost came close to the boat because they were flipping and turning around,' Girardeau said. 'The whales didn't seem to be distracted at all by our presence.'  

The creatures aren't taking the same migration path most gray whales travel on their way south

The whales were caught in the act during their annual migration down to the warm-water lagoons in Baja, where most of the mating usually occurs

Girardeau had fun with a video posted to social media of the whales, complete with the deep and sultry voice of Barry White singing along to the lovemaking

Also swimming alongside the gray whales were bottlenose dolphins and a rare leucistic dolphin known as Patches as well.

It is unusual to see courtship and mating outside of the lagoons of Mexico, further down the coast.

The species tend to mate further down on their migration path, near Baja California.  

This time of year is the gray whale migration when all the gray whales are moving from Alaska to Mexico.

They will be going back up to Alaska in a few months which is one of the longest migrations of any mammal as they travel from the northern reaches of Alaska to the warmer waters of Mexico.