Sightings of rare whales have been recorded off the coast of California in recent weeks, leaving some wondering what caused these spectacular whales to swim into the nearby sea.
In August, a rare yellow whale appeared in the eyes of lucky visitors to San Diego who participated in an ocean expedition. Cuvier-beaked whales, sometimes referred to as goose-beaked whales, come in a variety of colors, including brown, gray, and white. However, seeing yellow specimens is extremely rare.
"You've heard of the blue whale, you've heard of the gray whale, you may even have heard of the legend of the beluga whale, but have you heard of the yellow whale?" The owner of the San Diego Whale Watching Center, after the encounter, said that "an incredible weekend of sightings ended with an extraordinary encounter with a Cuvier-beaked whale: one of the most elusive and mysterious cetaceans on earth!" ”
The Cuvier-beaked whale can be more than 20 feet (about 6 meters) long, making it the deepest whale in the ocean, diving to a depth of 9,816 feet — nearly two miles (about 3 kilometers). A whale was recently recorded diving for 3 hours and 42 minutes before surfacing to breathe air.
Bigini even took aerial footage of whales, which may be the first time the species has been shot in this way. According to Biagini, the encounter took place during an 8-hour expedition 70 miles offshore when the whale surfaced with squid in its mouth.
"Initially, when one of the many blue whales we observed surfaced, 12 khaki whales appeared," the tour operator said.
"After a 30-minute dive, six Cuviers came back to the surface with large chunks of squid, right next to our boat!"
But Bigini's discovery isn't the only rare whale sighting this season. In August, a 90-foot-long (about 27-meter) blue whale was spotted off the coast of Monterrey. Sightings are unusual because the animals like to swim and forage away from the coast.
The Monterey Bay Whale Agency posted several photos of the sightings on its Facebook page, as well as a video showing one of the whales breaking through.
During the summer months, as many as 2,000 blue whales migrate through California's Central Coast. California's central coast is home to the largest percentage of blue whales in the world, at about 10,000.
These animals can weigh up to 330,000 pounds (about 150 tons) and can live to be 90 years old, but their numbers have declined significantly due to commercial whaling activities as well as boat traffic and fishing. Boat impacts can hurt or kill blue whales, and the risk increases in heavily trafficked coastal areas such as ports and waterways, and being entangled in fishing gear has become a serious threat.
With the threat posed by human actions, the whale, the world's largest animal, remains endangered.