Whale watchers off the northern coast of Massachusetts were recently stunned by a rare sighting of the world's largest animal.
According to the tour company, spectators on a Cape Ann Whale Watch boat got up close to a blue whale on July 4.
“We spent the most extraordinary 30 minutes in the presence of a blue whale,” Tina McMahon-Foley of the Gloucester-based company wrote in a Facebook post. “This encounter caused passengers on other whale watching boats to cheer each other on as one boat departed and another came in. A single animal created a sense of camaraderie between strangers.”
According to McMahon-Foley, the blue whale made four-minute dives and bystanders could see the animal's body beneath the water's surface.
According to NOAA Fisheries, North Atlantic blue whales can grow to about 90 feet (27 meters) in length and weigh more than 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms).
McMahon-Foley noted that she had only seen a blue whale once before, more than 20 years ago.
She also shared photos from Thursday's sighting, taken with a telescopic lens.
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