VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — It was a rare and beautiful sight off the coast of Volusia County Monday. Skywitness Nine was overhead as three right whales were swimming along the shoreline. They are some of the most endangered whales in the world.
The whales were close enough to shore for people to be able to watch them; they were just a few hundred yards out.
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There have been lots of sightings over the last few days and marine conservation groups up and down the coast can't wait to watch.
In his 35 years with the Volusia County Beach Patrol, Captain Scott Petersohn has always watched for them.
"You know, some years you don't see any, and some years you'll have lots of sightings. But that also has to do with the weather," he said.
Which was perfect this day, with the wind out of the west, to see three right whales.
"We saw the helicopter as we were coming into town. The helicopter was hovering above the ocean," tourist Jeremy Boss said.
The whales were a few hundred yards out and the Boss family on vacation from Michigan was part of the crowd at Daytona Beach's Sunsplash Park hoping to get a look.
"Oh, yeah, we'll definitely watch for them now to see if we see anything. The kids would love to see it," Kim Boss said.
The whales were being followed by a group of dolphins, which experts say may have been chasing bait fish that were keeping pace with the pod. The mothers give birth in the waters in January and February and then migrate to the coast of New England in the summer.
Full grown, right whales reach 55 feet in length and weigh 50 tons. They're among the rarest animals on the planet; there are only around 400 left.
"It's pretty cool to see an endangered creature like this. Who knows, in 50 years they many not be here. But on that same note, we have more now than we did a few years ago. So, the protection is working," Petersohn said.
Right whales were nearly hunted into extinction. Currently, it's illegal to come any closer than 500 yards of one.
WFTV
