A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of “one of the rarest whales in the world” off the California coast.

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The North Pacific Right Whale, which has only had “18 confirmed sightings” off the state’s coast since 1955, was spotted in Monterey Bay on Sunday, March 5, according to a Facebook post from Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

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The company described the whale species as “critically endangered.” There are only about 500 North Pacific Right Whales left in the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

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Photos posted on social media by the company show the whale’s back, along with its flipper and fin popping up just above the water’s surface.

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“We honestly were not even sure what we were looking at until we studied our photos closely: this right whale had barnacles, which are not commonly seen in this species,” the whale-watching company wrote.

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Карыстальнікі Facebook былі ў захапленні ад сустрэчы з кампаніяй па назіранні за кітамі, і адзін з іх назваў гэта “absolutely amazing.” and another calls the animal “Holy Grail.”

“What an incredible sight“, another user commented.

The whale-watching company said the last noted sighting of the whale off the coast was last April in Half Moon Bay. Before that, the species was last seen “off Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands” in May 2017 and off La Jolla the month prior.

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Endangered species remains threatened

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The animals were listed as an endangered species in 1970 after “commercial whaling greatly reduced right whale populations in the Pacific Ocean,” according to NOAA Fisheries.

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“They were deemed the ‘right whale to kill’ by whalers, because when killed they would float,” the whale-watching company said.

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The species is also “very slow moving” and spends much of its time on the surface, according to the company.

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While whaling is no longer a threat, human activity, like “entanglement in fishing gear,” vessel strikes and climate change, still threaten the species, NOAA fisheries said.

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Given the species rarity, any “data collected… is extraordinarily valuable to the scientific community,” the whale-watching company said.

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Those who happen to spot the rare creature should snap as many photos as possible and call 831-375-4658 to aid researchers, the company said.

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