Mysterious Gray Whale Appears Off Spanish Coast

Twenty-three days ago a mysterious gray whale was spotted off the coast of Israel, and it has now been spotted again this time near Spain by fishermen who were happy to confirm its existence.  The whale, once thought an elusive or mythical cryptid, has been confirmed to exist as it is spotted almost 2,000 miles from where it was first seen last month.

Due to changing ecosystems, whaling, and other factors both natural and man-made grey whale populations have significantly decreased and those species inhabiting the Pacific Ocean became extinct over two hundred years ago.  Now the sighting of this mystery whale raises a serious mystery about where it could have come from, what it is, and where it could be going.  Since the 19th century not a single grey whale has been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean.  Either there is a population existing in secret in the area that has somehow completely avoided human contact, or this whale has managed to travel undetected for a distance that obliterates all previous known whale migration records.  The sighting, made by SUBMON, suggests this creature could be indeed the same whale that was seen near Israel previously.  If it is a different one, however, it suggests a population that has defied all odds and made a comeback seemingly out of nowhere, but that may still be in great danger of being annihilated.

And yet neither SUBMON nor any other conservation group has any clear picture of where exactly the whale could be heading or why.  There have been reports from the WDCS that the feature comparison of the whale from the two different sightings suggest that it is likely the same one.  But why is it traveling so far?  And what dangers will it encounter in new environments that seem vastly different and alien to it?

There is speculation that at its current rate of travel, if it maintains the course it is on it will be reaching France and possibly even entering waters off the coast of the United Kingdom in a fairly short period of time.

This story is only the latest of strange behaviors undertaken by marine life in the past few years.  There are suggestions by conservation groups that the creatures’ natural sonar, which many marine mammals use to navigate could be affected by the use of artificial sonar imaging technologies.

The sighting could change opinions of the presence of Gray whales in the Atlantic, as this creature appears to be faring well in these waters.  The answer is of significance as there have been calls to airlift portions of Gray whale populations into the Irish sea and other portions of the Atlantic to diversify their chances for survival.  The whale itself may have unwittingly become a hero to its species by being detected migrating to this area.  This case of the unexplained wonders of nature has opened many eyes to possibilities of whale population sustaining and given a launching point for the initiative to reintroduce a species once thought regionally extinct into an old home of theirs.