MMSC: Rare Blue Whale Seen Off Cape May, NJ, Coast
🐋 Plenty of marine mammals can be seen along Jersey beaches.
🐋 Some marine mammals are more commonly found on the sand.
🐋 To see deep sea mammals along NJ's coast is a rare sight.
CAPE MAY -- The Marine Mammal Stranding Center has revealed a beautiful, albeit rare sighting of a certain special deep sea mammal that chose to surface along Jersey's coastline this week.
It's not out of the ordinary to witness a dolphin or two playing in the surf along New Jersey's beautiful beaches. You also shouldn't be surprised to hear about a seal or two winding up on shore throughout the year. New Jersey's got everything from sea turtles, seals, and even whales that frequent the state's waters year after year.
A blue whale sighting, however, is considered extremely rare.
Blue Whale Sighting In Cape May
There have been PLENTY of humpback whale sightings in the Garden State. As a matter of fact, there have been more than one per summer for the past few years now. Multiple sources confirm that humpbacks are the most common species of whale spotted along New Jersey's coast.
Fin whales are the second largest whale in the world (behind blue whales). They're the second-most spotted whale in New Jersey waters.
To see a blue whale off NJ's coast is truly a one-of-a-kind experience.
According to the folks at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, a blue whale was seen in waters off the coast of Cape May during Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center's recent 24-hour open ocean trip.
Blue Whale Fun Facts
In case you weren't aware, blue whales are actually the largest animals on earth! No, seriously... sources say they're even bigger than dinosaurs!
It's not uncommon for blue whales to weigh almost 200 tons. That measures out to over 440,000 pounds!
NJ's Department of Environmental Protection has made it easy for the MMSC to identify that this sighting was, in fact, a blue whale based on the description of the skin alone.
The blue whale's skin is light-bluish gray and mottled with gray or grayish-white; it appears distinctly blue when seen through the water.
How cool is this? Super grateful to MMSC and friends for sharing this experience!
Check out even more fun sightings from this summer:
Leaping Dolphins and Whales Near Cape May NJ
Gallery Credit: Kristen at Cape May Whale Watcher
Whales You Will See Off The Jersey Shore Coast
Gallery Credit: Jimmy G
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