A blue whale was spotted off the coast of Sydney, Australia last month, in what is said to have been the third sighting of the endangered sea creature in these waters in over a century. Currently, the total population of the blue whale, one of the world’s rarest animals, is between 10,000 - 25,000, according to a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
A Sydney-based photographer named Sean K, was able to capture photographs of the majestic blue whale as it swam along the coast of Maroubra, in New South Wales.
According to officials from the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the whale may have measured more than 25 metres (82 feet) in length and weighed over 100 tonnes (100,000 kg), BBC reported.
Despite its large size, blue whales are mostly invisible even to experienced whale-watchers, Andrew Marshall, a NPWS Officer claimed. “They are not often seen because they tend to live very far out to sea, their populations are widely dispersed and we have very limited data on its migration and critical habitat.”
This sighting was the “first verified record of this species” off the New South Wales coast, BBC reported.
Source: Indian Express
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