The owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, Don Biagini, spotted an elusive sea creature- yellow whales. During a journey of 8 hours that took the head of the ecotour seventy miles off-shore, Biagini sighted a group of Cuvier's beaked whales swimming along the sea surface.
Biagini inquired on Facebook asking: "You've heard of blue whales, you've heard of gray whales, you've probably even heard legends of white whales, but have you ever heard of a yellow whale?"
He continued on the post saying: "A weekend of incredible sightings was capped by a remarkable encounter with Cuvier's beaked whales. One of the most elusive and mysterious cetaceans on earth!"
Cuvier's beaked whales are known to be widely prevalent among the oceans. However, spotting these whales is rare since they usually stay far offshore.
This whale can be reddish-brown, dark gray, and, brownish-yellow. The one Biagini saw was brownish-yellow. The NOAA Fisheries noted that an infestation of little algae and diatoms usually causes this unique yellow tone.
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The Footage
The owner and operator of a San Fransisco-based ecotour company whose name is Biagini was able to record the rare sight. Biagini captured the sight from an aerial point-of-view with the use of drone technology. The outcome is an astonishing footage with the magnificent beaked whales.
Biagini, his team, and his passengers initially sighted the whales while they were trying to hunt squid. As per the ecotourist, the whales even came to the surface while it was close to the boat with the squid which they just caught in their mouths.
Biagini said after a 30-minute dive, half-a-dozen of the whale came back to the surface with lumps of squid right next to their boat.
Biagini explained that the depth of the water was more than 6,000 feet in the location. And this is nothing for Cuvier's since they are the deepest diving animal on earth.
The Deepest Diving Whale on Earth
The whales seen in the video Biagini made reveal scarring on their bodies. But, this is not rare for the Cuvier's beaked whales. This kind of whale usually has scars because of encounters with lamprey's, cookie-cutter sharks, or even engaging in a fight with whales of their kind.
This species of whale can develop up to twenty feet long. Also, they are the deepest diving whale on earth. The year the deepest documented dive by beaked whales took place was in 2014, getting to an astonishing 9,816 feet below the surface - about two miles deep.
In addition, the Cuvier's beaked whales are capable of staying underwater for a long time, thereby allowing for these deep dives. The longest dive of a Cuvier's beaked whale that has been recorded clocks in at more than 220 minutes, just more than three-and-a-half hours.
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