9/3/21 (AFP): As the migration season of the Southern Right Whales gets underway in the Argentine Patagonia locals and visitors are thrilled by the curious animals coming ever closer to shore.
On Tuesday, a rare encounter was caught on video shot from a drone. In the viral video, a Southern RIght whale seemingly plays with a woman on a paddleboard and pushes the board gently forward, observing the board's movement as the massive animal swims directly beneath it.
According to Marcos Grosso, Puerto Madryn's Tourism Secretary, more than 1,600 specimens have come near the city's shores so far.
The whale watching season in Puerto Madryn runs from May through December.
According to Wikipedia, an adult female southern right whale weighs up to 50 tons, and between 50 and 60 feet in length.
The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20° and 60° south.
In 2009 the global population was estimated to be approximately 13,600. Biologists do not consider the species threatened
Reader Comments(0)