In One Ear: 'It was astonishing'

Take heart, whale lovers. An endangered North Pacific Right Whale was spotted in late May off the California Coast, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. One of the world’s rarest whales, less than 40 survive.

“It was astonishing,” said research ecologist Jan Roletto, who sighted the whale while on a research vessel. “It came up right in front of us,” then lingered for nearly 20 minutes. “It seemed to be resting. It wasn’t feeding. It wasn’t traveling. It would move a little bit, then sink down.”

Also off California, in April 2022, a fisherman spotted one near Point Año Nuevo, and another was spotted in March 2023 in Monterey Bay.

“It’s always one individual animal, often in the spring,” whale researcher Jim Scarff said. “And then it’s never seen again.”