An extremely rare sighting has been spotted off the coast of California, and biologists say they’re excited about the discovery.
Jenna Marek, North Pacific right whale recovery coordinator and marine mammal expert, told Fox News Digital that a marine wildlife team from the Greater Farallon Islands and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary spotted the North Pacific right whale near Point Reyes.
“This is very exciting for us because we know very little about where these whales go outside of Alaska,” Marek said.
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“This will allow us to get a better understanding of the areas they may be frequenting, what times of the year they’re there and what activities they’re engaged in.”
There have been only a few documented sightings of the mammal since the 1970s, Marek said, with 15 of those recorded in California.
The endangered North Pacific right whale was discovered in California waters by a group of marine biologists during an outing in rocky waters. (NOAA/Pt. Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin)
Right whales have such distinctive features that trained species spotters were able to identify the whale as a rare North Pacific right whale.
Two distinguishing features include the right whale’s V-shaped spout compared to the humpback whale’s vertical spout.
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Right whales also have something called an “octopus” growing on their heads.
“These are these rough white patches of skin with what look like barnacles on them, and we actually use them to identify individual right whales because they’re like fingerprints,” Marek said.
“As the whale ages, the patterns don’t change, so we can take a photo of it and say, ‘Based on this information, we’ve seen this whale before,'” he said.
At the time of the sighting in late May, the ocean was too rocky for observers to get a good look at the keratin on the North Pacific right whale’s head to confirm its identity.
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Footage captured by the observation crew showed the whale resting at the surface, not moving in any particular direction or actively feeding, in a behavioral state known as “milling.”
Fewer than 50 North Pacific right whales are thought to make up the eastern population, with only 300 to 400 of the species remaining overall, scientists say. (NOAA/Pt. Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin)
“The whale wasn’t moving and just seemed to be relaxing. Its breathing was slow and it wasn’t moving in any direction, so it was most likely resting or sleeping,” Marek said.
Fewer than 50 North Pacific right whales make up the eastern population.
Fewer than 50 North Pacific right whales make up the eastern population, making this sighting even more rare.
Marek said there are only about 300 to 400 of each species left, both in the east and west.
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“There is a population in the western North Pacific, off the coast of Russia and Japan, that is a little healthier than the one off the coast of the United States and Canada, but we don’t know enough about it,” the marine expert added.
Based on genetic analyses her team is conducting, it doesn’t appear that any interbreeding has occurred between eastern and western North Pacific right whales, although there are thought to be a small number of breeding females.
Marek said the team still hopes to learn a lot about North Pacific right whales, but sightings like this one go a long way in discovering the behavior and habits of the rare mammals.
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“We have not yet been able to identify clear migration routes or breeding and calving areas for North Pacific right whales, including through research into past whaling records,” the expert added.
“This whale may have been in Alaska or further north, but now it’s in California.”
“There’s nothing particularly conspicuous about where they regularly migrate from point A to point B every year, so it’s interesting to us to see them off the coast of California,” she said. “This isn’t necessarily the case.” [an] “It’s an important ecological area for them, but our findings suggest that this whale may have once been in Alaska or further north and is now in California.”
Outside of Alaska, California has the highest number of North Pacific right whale sightings. (NOAA/Pt. Blue/ACCESS, D. Devlin)
Outside of Alaska, California has the highest number of North Pacific right whale sightings.
Marek said there have been an increase in sightings recently, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the population is growing, but it does mean people are better able to identify them and are doing a better job of reporting their sightings.
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Anyone who may encounter the endangered species in the water is best off reporting their sighting to np.rw@noaa.gov, the team said, and experts will respond and verify the sighting.
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“We encourage people to take photographs from a reasonable distance, gather that information and report it to our fisheries because every single sighting is invaluable to us.”
