JUNO BEACH, Fla. – There’s growing concern for an endangered right whale and her calf spotted multiple times off South Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is warning boaters to steer clear.
The two North Atlantic right whales, among only 350 or so believed to be left in the wild, passed by a pier in Juno Beach Wednesday.
The rare sighting drew a crowd of onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse.
“Wow, crazy, I never see whales over here, so it was my first time,” Elizabeth Fudu, who was visiting from France, said.
The whale, with her newborn calf, was seen in drone footage shot from the pier.
“To explain it best, it was surreal,” Drone pilot James McGrath, who spent hours searching for the 100,000-pound marine mammal and her calf, said. “I just was blown away, I think I called everyone and their mother, brother, sister, and I just couldn’t believe that I had gotten that shot.”
McGrath had located the mother and calf off Singer Island.
The whales travel south during the winter months to calve. The mother whale is believed to be one of only around 100 mating females alive.
The FWC encourages people to keep their distance. Officials with the agency are following behind the animal as it travels south.
Legally, because of its endangered status, everyone must remain at least 500 yards away.
“We see dolphins out here periodically, and we share sharks, and bull sharks, but never the whale, yet,” resident Will Govett said.
One of the biggest threats to the docile animals, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is boat strikes.