A pair of critically endangered whales was spotted not far off the coast from the Perdido Pass in Orange Beach this weekend.

Several species of whales are known to inhabit the Gulf, but they are rarely seen swimming so close to shore. To see a video of the whales sighting in front of Capt. Bobby Kelly’s boat check out GCM’s Instagram video here.

While the whales were originally identified by a state agency on Facebook as the Rice’s whales, which are only found in the Gulf, Ruth Carmichael, a senior marine scientist with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, told Gulf Coast Media they were actually North Atlantic right whales, a similar yet different kind of baleen whale.

“North Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered large whale species in the world, with approximately 370 individuals remaining in the population. These right whales are typically found in Atlantic coastal waters (New England, mid-Atlantic and Southeastern USA), where they migrate along the coast, spending the cooler months in waters of the Southeast,” Carmichael said. “It is unusual for right whales to be sighted on the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, making this event likely ‘once in a lifetime’ for those who saw them.”

Based on photo-identification records, Carmichael said one of the animals is thought to be an adult female named Curlew. The identity of the other animal could not be confirmed. Curlew has been sighted at least since November 2024 with another adult female known as Koala. The pair was last sighted off the coast of Florida in January.

It is estimated that reproductive adult females comprise less than 25% of the remaining right whale population, making sightings of adult females even more rare.

Both species are critically endangered. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website, there are “likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining” of Rice's whales, making them “one of the rarest whales in the world.”

“Research indicates Rice’s whales are resident and live year-round in the Gulf of Mexico,” the NOAA website reads. “They are the only species of baleen whale that regularly occurs in the Gulf.” President Donald Trump has since renamed the body of water the Gulf of America via an execuitve order.

The NOAA website also states that Rice’s whale sightings are mostly in 100–400-meter water depths off Alabama’s Gulf Coast and the West Coast of Florida.

Note: This reporting originally identified the whales as Rice's whales but now reflects information given to GCM by the sea lab.