Scuba captain makes incredible sighting of rare creatures in the Bahamas: 'I thought it was fake at first'

A rare sighting has conservationists across the globe in awe.

For the first time ever, two North Atlantic right whales were spotted swimming in the Bahamas, according to reports by Mongabay. Scuba captain Isaac Ellis spotted the rare whale species while leading a dolphin-watching tour for a group of tourists.

"That moment for me was breathtaking, and I couldn't fully gather myself. I thought it was fake at first," Ellis said in a statement. "Once-in-a-lifetime moment for sure."

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world's most endangered whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commercial whale hunting nearly caused the species to go extinct by the 1890s. Now, only 370 right whales remain in the wild.

As a result, the sighting in the Bahamas is not only exciting for the species' recovery but also a mystery for marine biologists.

"It is fairly unusual for right whales to be seen in the Gulf of Mexico, and there are no recorded sightings of right whales in The Bahamas," Philip Hamilton, senior scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center, said in a statement. "What inspired them to make this journey will likely remain a mystery."

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The two whales spotted in the Bahamas also have scientists perplexed since right whales typically travel alone, unless a mother whale is caring for her calf. Koala and Curlew, the two whales identified, are both adult female right whales, who have been observed swimming together for "the past several months," per Mongabay.

While commercial hunting is no longer a threat to right whales, rising sea temperatures and human interactions still put these mammals at risk. Right whales have been caught in fishing nets, and warming temperatures are causing their main food source, copepods, to decline.

Still, seeing right whales swimming beyond their typical geographic range is a step in the right direction for the species and global biodiversity.

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