World

Five times sea creatures captivated an audience. See the ‘phenomenal’ sightings

Stories by Real-Time News journalists, with AI summarization

A days-old orca calf was spotted near San Juan Island, closely shadowing its mother as researchers monitored their health. A peachy-colored orca calf, J-62, showed playful energy while socializing with her J pod family in the Salish Sea. In Ireland, a rare sighting of a sperm whale navigating a shallow estuary ended safely, easing conservationists’ fears.

Read the stories below.

File photo. An endangered baby whale was born recently. It has been spotted off San Juan Island. James Beheshti via Unsplash

NO. 1: DAYS-OLD ENDANGERED SEA CREATURE SWIMS WITH MOM NEAR WASHINGTON ISLAND. SEE THE PAIR

“What a tiny miracle.” | Published September 18, 2024 | Read Full Story by Helena Wegner

Two pairs of female North American right whales and calves were spotted near north Florida Dec. 30, the FWC said. Getty Images/iStockphoto

NO. 2: ENDANGERED WHALES — ONE A FIRST-TIME MOM — SPOTTED WITH CALVES OFF FLORIDA. SEE THEM

Fewer than 400 remain in the wild, biologists estimate. | Published January 2, 2025 | Read Full Story by Olivia Lloyd

The calf was first spotted New Year’s Eve. James Beheshti via Unsplash

NO. 3: BABY KILLER WHALE WITH PEACHY COLORING SEEN BONDING WITH FAMILY OFF WA. ‘PHENOMENAL’

A video shows the endangered sea creature rolling and splashing. | Published March 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Helena Wegner

In a “rare” sighting, a sperm whale was observed swimming into the mouth of a river in Ireland. Just a few dozen sperm whale sightings have been made off the coast of Ireland since 1990, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Photo from IWDG, Facebook

NO. 4: DEEP WATER WHALE SEEN SWIMMING UP SHALLOW RIVER IN IRELAND, PHOTOS SHOW. ‘RARE EVENT’

The species has only been documented off the Emerald Isle about two dozen times since 1990. | Published March 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Brendan Rascius

The whales, named Koala and Curlew, “appear to be in good health,” officials says. However, they face dangers from potentially deadly boat strikes due to being close to shore at a tourism hot spot, experts say. NOAA Fisheries photo

NO. 5: TWO ENDANGERED WHALES MYSTERIOUSLY POP UP OFF UNEXPECTED US COASTLINE, NOAA SAYS

The pair are “out-of-habitat,” experts say. | Published April 9, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mark Price

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.