Pictures of a whale breaching off Cape Race on Friday are causing a bit of a splash on social media.
Clifford Doran posted the pictures to Facebook, immediately generating interest and excitement.
Humpbacks are famous for breaching and putting on a show in Newfoundland waters, but by now they’re well on their way back to the Caribbean. This whale it turns out, appears to be a rare North Atlantic Right Whale.
The creatures, which are endangered, are not very common in Newfoundland waters. Marine mammal researcher with DFO, Dr. Jack Lawson, says it appears to be a right whale, but he’s not sure if it’s the same whale that passed by Cape Spear on November 2. He says in recent years, there have been a number of right whale sightings off the northeast coast of Newfoundland in the late fall. He says while it is becoming a bit of a pattern, it is still very rare.
