Gray whale spotted in the Atlantic for the first time in 200 years
An aerial survey team has spotted a gray whale off the coast of New England. This species became extinct in the Atlantic more than 200 years ago.
The whale was constantly diving and surfacing, presumably in search of food. An aerial survey plane flew over the area for 45 minutes to take enough photos to confirm that it was a gray whale, according to a press release from the New England Aquarium.
"My brain was trying to process what I saw because this animal was something that really shouldn't have existed in these waters. We were laughing because it was wild and exciting to see an animal that disappeared from the Atlantic hundreds of years ago!" said researcher Kate Lemmle.
This gray whale is likely the same one that scientists saw off the coast of Florida in December 2023.
Gray whales are found in the North Pacific Ocean and are easily distinguished from other species by their lack of a dorsal fin, spotted gray-white skin and dorsal hump followed by pronounced spines.
An explanation for why the whale swam into the Atlantic may lie in climate change. The Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, has often remained ice-free in recent years, in part due to rising global temperatures.
As TravelWise reported, scientists have for the first time recorded the last minutes of a 35-year-old male whale dying of old age but desperately trying to survive.
