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Rare Right Whales Visit Florida

Rare Right Whales Visit Florida

Written by Leisure Pro Staff
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Published on February 15, 2016

Ocean lovers on the central Florida coast were treated to a surprising sight earlier this month: A mother and baby Atlantic right whale decided to detour into the waters of Sebastian Inlet. Located on Florida’s east coast between Daytona Beach and West Palm Beach, Sebastian Inlet is home to many species of seabirds and other creatures. Pelicans, sandpipers, dolphins, sharks, and manatees are common sights in the area, but whales are a rare sight indeed. The inlet allows access from the ocean to the Indian River, which runs parallel to the coast between the Florida peninsula and its barrier islands.

An endangered species of whale, it is estimated that fewer than 500 of this variety are alive in the wild. Right whales once had a lifespan of 50 to 70 years but that has dwindled to only 15 years, with ship strikes and net entanglements being the main culprits in cutting their lives short. While they can be found ranging from Newfoundland down to Florida, the Icelandic and northern European populations are thought to be extinct.

As a baleen species, right whales eat plankton. They spend much of their lives in the cooler northern Atlantic, but females migrate south to the waters off Georgia and Florida to give birth each year. Calves are 10 to 15 feet long and can weigh as much as 1.5 tons.

Atlantic Right whales are related to the North Pacific right whale, of which only about 100 remain, and the Southern right, which populates the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean. There are about 8,000 Southern right whales in existence today. While all right whales are protected by international law, they are still hunted. Large and slow moving, they are an easy target for illegal hunting, as well as frequent victims of collision with seagoing freighters.

Watch here for video of these beautiful creatures peacefully making their way through the inlet, oblivious to the hundreds of onlookers who rushed to the spot for a once in a lifetime glimpse of mother and baby. The mother whale has been dubbed “Clipper” by biologists due to the fact that she is missing a part of her tail. Spoiler alert: Clipper and her calf made their way safely back to the open waters of the Atlantic to begin their migration back north.

Leisure Pro Staff

Leisure Pro Staff

Marketing Director for LeisurePro