Sealacanth Studios: The Right Whale in My Backyard

In keeping up with my resolution to slow down and focus on one thing at a time this year (hasn't worked out too well yet), I wanted to write a post about the encounter my small town had with a couple of endangered North Atlantic right whales!

The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is one of the most endangered species of large whales in the world. Weighing up to 70 tons and growing to 50ft long, it's estimated that there are only 450 individuals in this giant beauty's western population, and their eastern population may have already reached extinction. This plummet in population size occurred during the early-mid 1900's due to extreme harvesting by whalers off the coast of Ireland, the British Isles, and northwestern Africa. Since the 1970's, serious actions have been made by governments and conservationists to protect them from extinction, but there is still a lot of work to be done to increase their numbers.

While they are most commonly associated with northern waters (I thought so at least), Florida happens to play a big role in their migration! During the fall/winter, right whales migrate down to the coasts of Georgia and Florida to feed and give birth, which is also known as "calving season". (Some happy news, FWC has already seen 13 pairs of mothers and calves off the coast of Florida this calving season! <3)

With such low numbers, this whale has rarely been seen in the wild by humans. But on Monday, February 9, my small hometown got a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this elusive giant when a mother (named Clipper) and her calf wondered into the Sebastian Inlet! They remained in the inlet for a day and a half until they finally fought off the currents Tuesday afternoon, but during their time here they generated quite a crowd. I had the amazing fortune to catch the tail-end of their visit to our inlet and saw them bobbing their heads in-sync with each other for a few glorious minutes, but others got a much grander view when they were swimming under the cross-over.

In this post, I wanted to collect some of my favorite photos taken of these two whales from intimate views that are seldom seen by the public. It's hard to forget these amazing creatures when you see them in person, and I hope this accidental detour they made through our waters will leave an impression on Floridians that causes more motivation to protect them. From the huge amount of awestruck people I saw gathered at the inlet just to catch a glimpse of these whales, I have high hopes!

Good luck in the big blue sea Clipper and Sebastian (they better have named that baby Sebastian) and thank you for making one of my dreams come true!!