For the first time ever, two North Atlantic right whales have been spotted in the Bahamas. The critically endangered species has never before been documented in that country’s waters.
Video captured by the Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center showed the two female right whales swimming off Bimini Island on Tuesday.
The New England Aquarium (NEAQ), which maintains a photo catalog of of every photographed sighting of right whales in the North Atlantic, then identified the pair as 16-year-old “Koala” and 14-year-old “Curlew.” They’re two of the last females in a total population of just about 370.
It’s unclear why they’re in the Bahamas, according to NEAQ senior scientist Phillip Hamilton, but they’ve been swimming together for months. That’s another unexpected angle to their story.
“Besides the unusual locations, it is also rare for two right whales to remain together for more than a few days unless it is a mother with her calf. Everything about this sighting is remarkable and exciting,” Hamilton said in a statement.
Meanwhile, roughly half of the world’s North Atlantic right whales are currently feeding in waters off Massachusetts, on their way north for the summer.
Experts say they hope Curlew and Koala will soon join them. But it’s not a given.
“These two whales are usually seen in Cape Cod Bay in April,” Hamilton said. “Where they will be spotted next is anyone’s guess.”
