Endangered whale seen off Iceland, 3rd there in 30 years

Endangered whale seen off Iceland, 3rd there in 30 years
In this Monday, July 23, 2018 photo provided by the New England Aquarium, a right whale called Mogul dives off the coast northwest of Reykjavik, Iceland. The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston says whale watchers off Iceland caught an extremely rare glimpse of an endangered right whale near their country. (Guolaugur Ottesen Karlsson/Elding Adventures at Sea/New England Aquarium via AP)

A New England ocean science center says whale watchers off Iceland caught an extremely rare glimpse of an endangered right whale near their country.

The North Atlantic right whale was spotted northwest of Reykjavik (RAY'-kyuh-vik) on Monday.

The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston says there have been only three North Atlantic right whales identified off Iceland in the last 30 years.

The center says the whale is called Mogul by researchers and was seen feeding off Marshfield, Massachusetts, in April.

The right whales migrate up the U.S. East Coast every year to feed. But the center says they have had to change where they feed in recent years because of changes in the ocean.

There are only about 450 of the whales.

Endangered whale seen off Iceland, 3rd there in 30 years
In this Monday, July 23, 2018 photo provided by the New England Aquarium, a right whale called Mogul swims off the coast northwest of Reykjavik, Iceland. The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston said says whale watchers off Iceland caught an extremely rare glimpse of an endangered right whale near their country. (Guolaugur Ottesen Karlsson/Elding Adventures at Sea/New England Aquarium via AP)

© 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Endangered whale seen off Iceland, 3rd there in 30 years (2018, July 24) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2018-07-endangered-whale-iceland-3rd-years.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Study: Blowhole spray can provide fast data on whale health

8 shares

Feedback to editors