Rare Whale Sighting Off Cape Is Fantastic News For Species

A rare whale sighting off Cape Cod is being celebrated by local scientists.

Last week an endangered adult sperm whale and a young calf were photographed during a recent aerial survey over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, something that hasn't happened in a long time.

The survey area is just 130 miles east of Cape Cod and the number of whales and dolphins spotted during the five hour flight totaled in the hundreds. All good news for our local waters.

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The New England Aquarium press release about the sighting said 324 marine animals were spotted off the Cape while they were surveying the area, which signals very good things for the water conditions around New England.

But the best find of the flight was definitely the adult sperm whale swimming with a young calf.

Though the Aquarium scientists say they can't confirm if the pair are actually mother and child, seeing an adult with a baby is a big deal. In fact its the first time it's happened at all in the last six years.

With sperm whales being on the endangered species list, seeing a sperm whale calf is fantastic news for the entire species and according to Sharon Hsu, a research technician with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium "a reminder of the rich biodiversity of animals that use the Monument.”

Other animals spotted included bottlenose dolphins, fin whales, Risso’s dolphins, humpback whales, ocean sunfish, common dolphins and one True’s beaked whale.