‘Incredibly rare’ gray whale spotted 200 years after extinction from the Atlantic

TO Gray whalewhose species is considered extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for 200 years, was recently sighted off the coast of Nantucket, an island in Massachusetts, researchers announced.

The “incredibly rare” event was captured by the New England Aquarium’s aerial survey team that flew 30 miles south of Nantucket last week, according to a Tuesday press release.

Gray whales are predominantly seen in the North Pacific Ocean and largely disappeared from the Atlantic in the 18th century, Aquarium researchers noted in the release.

In an interview in “World News Tonight with David Muir“Orla O’Brien, an associate research scientist who spotted the gray whale, said she was amazed by the creature’s journey through the Northwest Passage.

“This whale somehow crossed from Alaska, through the Arctic, into the Atlantic Ocean,” O’Brien said.

Initially, scientists were unsure if the whale they spotted was actually a gray whale.

“I didn’t want to say out loud what it was, because it seemed crazy,” said O’Brien, who has conducted aerial surveys since 2011.

Gray whales are distinguished from other species by their lack of a dorsal fin, their mottled gray and white skin, and their dorsal hump accentuated by pronounced ridges.

The whale dived repeatedly and resurfaced and appeared to be feeding as the aerial survey plane circled the area for 45 minutes, capturing images, according to the release.

Kate Laemmle, a research technician on the plane at the time of the incident, was also surprised to learn that there was a gray whale in the region.

“My brain was trying to process what I was seeing because this animal was something that really shouldn’t exist in these waters,” Laemmle said in the statement. “We were laughing about how wild and exciting it was to see an animal that disappeared from the Atlantic hundreds of years ago.”

While gray whales are considered extinct in Atlantic waters, Aquarium researchers say there have been five reported observations of gray whales in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters over the past 15 years.

In December 2023, a gray whale was spotted off the coast of Florida and aquarium researchers suspect it may be the same whale spotted off Nantucket.

Researchers believe rising global temperatures may be a factor in the whale’s journey through the Northwest Passage, citing less sea ice in the summer as a reason for the migration.

“The extent of sea ice typically limits the range of gray whale species,” the researchers explained in the statement. “Now, gray whales can potentially travel through the Passage in summer, something that would not have been possible in the previous century.”

O’Brien believes the latest gray whale sighting is important in a broader conversation about how rising global temperatures may affect marine species.

“These sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic serve as a reminder of how quickly marine species respond to climate change, if given the opportunity,” O’Brien said in the statement.