Juvenile Humpback Spotted in New York Harbor

“One-in-a-million,” experts called the rare sightings as a humpback whale was reported multiple times in the New York Harbor and the Hudson River on Wednesday and Thursday.

Video captured by Gotham Whale on Wednesday shows the marine mammal spewing water from its blowhole while a large container ship and a smaller tug boat pass very closely to the creature. The animal was spotted near St. George’s ferry terminal in New York Harbor before appearing in the Hudson River on Thursday from Lower Manhattan all the way into Chelsea off Pier 45, FOX Weather reported.

Confirmation of the individual animal’s identity requires clear pictures of its dorsal fin or the underside of its tail flukes. Researchers need those images to compare against the Gotham Whale’s NYC Humpback Whale Catalog, which holds identifying data for more than 500 individual humpbacks recorded in and around the city since 2012.

“When you hear about Humpbacks in New York Harbor, they are almost always in the Lower Bay, the area south of the Verrazzano Narrows,” Gotham Whale said in a statement.

Juvenile humpback whales frequently swim into the Upper Bay and the city’s inner waterways to hunt for prey. These animals enter the Hudson primarily to feed on Atlantic Menhaden, a coastal forage fish species that draws younger whales close to shore during their fall run.

“We have recently identified dozens of Humpback Whales across NY/NJ as they come close to shore to feed on Atlantic Menhaden migrating south down Long Island and Jersey Shore beaches,” the Staten Island-based nonprofit said.

Young whales searching for these schooling fish often ignore surrounding boat traffic while hunting. That behavior puts the animals at serious risk for vessel strikes, which are one of the biggest threats to marine life in local waterways.

The area of New York Harbor where the video was recorded contains high concentrations of fish, leading the whale to engage in active lunge-feeding directly as a cargo ship passed nearby. Gotham Whale said that operators must maintain heightened caution in these busy shipping lanes.

“It can be exciting to see whales in this part of the city, but it is important to remember that these are busy waterways: boaters and vessel operators MUST maintain caution and reduce speeds,” the organization said.

Boaters in the harbor should slow down, scan the surface for whale spouts, and stay at least 100 feet away from any seen marine mammals.

Gotham Whale recorded its 500th individual whale in its regional catalog during late July. The catalog tracks sightings dating back to 2012.

Young humpbacks enter the inner waterways and the Hudson River to feed on migrating Atlantic Menhaden during their fall run along local beaches.

Vessel operators must reduce speeds, watch for spouts, and keep a distance of at least 100 feet from any marine mammals to prevent vessel strikes.