‘Legendary’ deep-diving sea creature — known for eating squids — spotted in California
Delaney Trowbridge was on the water with a boat full of whale watchers in California recently when she glimpsed “a rare, but familiar” sight in the distance.
It was “legendary” sperm whale Papaya, Trowbridge wrote in a July 30 Instagram post.
“The last place I expected to find this legendary deep-diving mammal was in the shallows off of Huntington Beach, but there he was in 280 feet of water (85m),” she said. “Somehow, someway, we manage to run into each other all the time… nice to see you again so soon, ‘Papaya!’”
Trowbridge, who is a photographer and captain for Newport Coastal Adventure, was on a morning tour when she spotted the creature, according to an Instagram post from the tour group.
“Capt Delaney hit the jackpot with a rare sighting on this morning’s 4 hour trip,” Newport Coastal Adventure said in its July 29 post.
The sighting happened about 7 miles from Newport Beach, the group said.
Papaya has been spotted more than a dozen times since 2016, according to the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society.
“[Trowbridge] was shocked to see this deep diving squid-eating whale so close to shore,” the group wrote in a July 31 Facebook post. Papaya typically “hangs around for several days, foraging along the edges of canyon drop-offs.”
Social media users shared their excitement about the sighting.
“I was one of the lucky six with Captain Delaney,” one person commented on Newport Coastal Adventure’s Instagram post. “It was an awesome bucket list experience.”
“Such an amazing experience to see him in person yesterday! Still in disbelief,” another person wrote on Trowbridge’s post.
“What an epic day at sea,” a third person commented on Instagram.
A rare sighting of a massive creature
Sperm whales are the largest toothed whale, and they are found in all deep oceans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are considered endangered under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The massive creatures can grow to be 15 tons for females and 45 tons for males, and they can be as big as 40 feet for females and 52 feet for males, according to NOAA.
The July 29 sighting comes just weeks after another Newport Coastal Adventure group spotted an “ultra rare” trio of sperm whales near Laguna Beach in June.
“This is something that might happen once a year if you are lucky. Our top notch crew did a great job spotting and tracking these rare creatures into the sunset allowing 3 boat loads of passengers to experience a ‘bucket list’ sighting,” the agency said in a June 4 Instagram post.
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 12:34 PM with the headline "‘Legendary’ deep-diving sea creature — known for eating squids — spotted in California."
