JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A critically endangered right whale mom and calf were spotted Friday near the mouth of the St. Johns River, according to observers aboard the dredge Bayport.
Chad Leedy and Alessia Brugnara spotted the whales and snapped pictures. The adult right whale is estimated to be 45 feet long and the calf 12 feet in length.
The right whale was identified as #2791, a female sighted off the Georgia coast without a calf just five days ago.
Right whale researchers from St. Augustine to Boston were thrilled to receive these photos and data.
This is the first right whale calf sighted this season and it’s the first one seen in the southeastern critical habitat area in two years.
The captain and mates on the dredge Bayport were steady and cautious in their handling of the ship and keeping distance between the vessel and the whale after it was sighted.
Many people walking along the shoreline at Jacksonville Beach Sunday were thrilled to learn the right whale and her calf were so close.
"Amazing! I wish I would have been able to experience that," Jacksonville resident Waleska Gonzalez said.
"That is pretty neat. I mean, that is really cool that you have seen it here in Jacksonville," said beachgoer C.J. Jennings.
Right whales migrate from the North Atlantic to give birth off the coast of Georgia and Florida between December and March.
"We have to keep the whales safe," Jacksonville resident Johnson Fairbanks said.
There are believed to be fewer than 400 northern right whales left and they are considered to be the most endangered of all the large whales.