A team of scientists spotted a rare sight near the coast of New England – a gray whale enjoying a swim.
Scientists from the New England Aquarium were flying 30 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts when they encountered what they described as an “unusual” looking whale, according to a news release from the aquarium.
“I didn’t want to say out loud what it was, because it seemed crazy,” said Orla O’Brien, research associate at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium.
During the aerial survey, the team was able to capture images of the whale from above, and after returning to the aquarium and reviewing the images, they were able to confirm that they had captured images of a gray whale — which had not been seen in the Atlantic Ocean for more than 200 years.
New England Aquarium
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“My brain was trying to process what I was seeing, because this animal is something that really shouldn’t exist in these waters,” said technician Kate Laemmle. “We laughed because this was wild and exciting – to see an animal that disappeared from the Atlantic hundreds of years ago!”
In the photos taken by the scientists, the whale could be seen diving in and out of the water. The creature’s telltale features, including its “mottled” gray and white skin, dorsal hump and “pronounced ridges” and “lack” of dorsal fin in the images, all pointed to the fact that it was indeed a gray whale.
In its statement, the aquarium stated that this species had disappeared from the Atlantic Ocean by the 18th century, but it has been observed more and more. It has been seen five times in the past 15 years in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, including off the coast of Florida in December.
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New England Aquarium
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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website, gray whales are “only regularly found” in the North Pacific Ocean. They are divided into two populations in the eastern and western Pacific Ocean.
Scientists attributed the new sightings to climate change, noting that the Northwest Passage, which sits over Canada and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, no longer has the thick ice glaciers that impede the movement of sea creatures between the two seas during summer due to warmer temperatures.
The aquarium noted that sea ice “restricted” gray whales last century as they could not “break through the thick winter ice”, but this barrier has now been removed by rising global temperatures.
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“These Atlantic gray whale sightings serve as a reminder of how quickly marine species can respond to climate change, given the opportunity,” O’Brien said in a statement.
“This view emphasizes how important every poll is,” she added. “While we expect to see humpback whales and fin whales, the ocean is a dynamic ecosystem and you never know what you’re going to find.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education