Whale seen surfacing in river 60 miles from ocean in Northern California
Northern Californians are expressing excitement about the rare sighting of a humpback whale in a delta about 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
The whale was seen traveling through the San Francisco Bay on Tuesday and later in a delta in the Sacramento River near the Rio Vista Bridge on Wednesday, according to eyewitnesses.
"I thought it was a submarine at first," Josue Mejia Blanco, a fisherman who spotted the whale on Tuesday, told ABC station KGO in San Francisco.
"At first it was kind of mind blown. I couldn't process it," Mejia Blanco said.
Mejia Blanco said the whale was the size of a school bus, or at least half of one.
It is unknown why the humpback was traveling in these waters, whether it was simply passing through or if it has an unknown underlying ailment, according to the Marine Mammal Center, a marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation organization.
The humpback was caught on video spouting water while swimming close to shore.
The Marine Mammal Center encouraged the public to let the whale be and ensure to view it from a respectful distance.
"This whale is in an out of normal habitat area," Kathi George, director of Cetacean Conservation Biology at The Marine Mammal Center, said in a statement to ABC News. "Our team is actively monitoring the situation, and we kindly ask the public to please avoid changing the whale's course and let the animal decide where it wants to go."
Denny Glover, a fisherman, told KGO he spotted the whale just about a mile south of the Rio Vista Bridge at around noon on Wednesday while fishing in the Sacramento River.
"It would breach, it would spout take a breath of air and then go back down," Glover said. "I've never seen one up the river like that. None of us have ever seen one up here other than Humphrey on TV."
A whale named Humphrey became famous for its recurring appearances in the San Francisco Bay back in 1985, drawing crowds to view it from the shore for its rare presence in the area.
The Marine Mammal Center told ABC News that while this is an unusual location for the whale, it seems to be in good condition and moving freely.
The center said its biggest concern is the welfare of the whale, specifically regarding its stress levels and boat traffic. The public is advised to stay alert, particularly in active waterways with boat traffic, as whales can surface unexpectedly.
The whale spotted Wednesday was identified through Cascadia Research Collective's photo identification public catalog as CRC-11620, with 15 documented sightings in the past 24 years from California to Mexico, according to the Marine Mammal Center.
