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Gray whale sighting in Mediterranean baffles scientists
Gray whale in False Creek, Vancouver; photo by Ariane Colenbrander (source: Flicker Creative Commons)
A gray whale has been spotted in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. Gray whales, thought to be extinct in the Atlantic Ocean – what to speak of the Mediterranean – are large baleen whales previously believed to only live in the North Pacific.
From a BBC News report:
Once, three major populations of gray (also spelt grey) whale existed: in the western and eastern North Pacific Ocean, and in the North Atlantic. However, the North Atlantic population of gray whale became extinct sometime in the 17th or 18th Century, for reasons that are not clear.
Scientists are not sure how the whale came to be in the Mediterranean, as it would have had to migrate much further than the typical annual 15,000-20,000 km distance that grays cover.
Another unusual gray whale sighting was recorded last week in False Creek, an inlet in downtown Vancouver, Canada.
From an article in the Toronto Star:
The ferries that zip people back and forth through the harbour, which include a number of marinas, slowed or cut their engines as marine workers and the Vancouver police tried to shepherd the whale back to the open water Wednesday when it was first spotted.
The 35-foot (10.7-meter) gray whale was perhaps taking a detour from its annual migration from Mexico to Alaska to find food.
by Graham Land
Tags: Atlantic, False Creek, gray, Mediterranean, north, ocean, Pacific, scientists, sighting, Vancouver, whale
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