Story at a glance:
- A rare yellow whale made an amazing appearance during a Southern California ecotour. .
- Cuvier’s beaked whales are present throughout the far offshore and are infrequently encountered.
- An explanation for this rare whale’s colors is that it was changed due to infestation of microscopic diatoms and algae
Rare yellow whales made an amazing appearance during a Southern California ecotour.
Cuvier‘s beaked whales, sometimes called “goose-beaked whales,” come in unique colors: brown, grey, and sometimes white. However, it is a rarity to see its yellow form.
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At Gone Whale Watching in San Diego, tourists got to see just that, USA Today reported.
“You’ve heard of blue whales, you’ve heard of gray whales, you’ve probably even heard legends of white whales, but have you ever heard of a yellow whale?” Dom Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, asked on Facebook after his encounter last Saturday. “A weekend of incredible sightings was capped by a remarkable encounter with Cuvier’s beaked whales: one of the most elusive and mysterious cetaceans on earth!”
During an 8-hour expedition 70 miles offshore, drone footage captured the rare whale on video at a depth of 6,000 feet.
Cuvier’s beaked whales are present throughout the far offshore and are infrequently encountered, and according to Getaway Magazine, these creatures can be found British Columbia, Canada, the Gulf of California, the Gulf of Mexico, Massachusetts, and the Shetlands, among others. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are known to occur near New Zealand, South Africa, and Tierra del Fuego.
An explanation for this rare whale’s colors is that it was changed due to infestation of microscopic diatoms and algae, according to NOAA Fisheries.
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Published on Aug 12,2021