Whale watchers recently caught a glimpse of something rather unusual – a beluga whale swimming in the waters off San Diego, California!
Although not confirmed, it is likely the whale may have come from the resident population in the Cook Inlet Alaska. San Diego is still not where you would expect to find this Arctic animal – over 3,000+ miles away. Looking at the condition of the whale’s body and skin it would seem to indicate that it is in good health and finding food, despite being so far out of its range in much warmer water.
Local whale watching charter captain with Gone Whale Watching, Domenic Biagini, filmed the beluga with his drone as it swam seven miles off Mission Bay.
Although it is rare to sight a solitary beluga whale, there have been several cases over the past 30 years, including the female beluga whale which appeared in waters around Long Island, New York in 1980. More recently, and again inexplicably, a beluga whale was sighted in the River Thames at Gravesend, Kent in the UK. The whale, which came to be known as ‘Benny’, was thought to be a sub-adult and remained in the area for several months before simply disappearing.
