It was an incredible scene off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket when researchers recorded 161 whale sightings during a flyover.
The amazing pictures of the whale were posted on social media this week.
There were seven different species captured during the NOAA flight at the end of May, including 93 sei whales, 36 humpback whales, 21 fin whales, four sperm whales, three North Atlantic right whales and two killer whales (one which was eating a whale), NOAA posted on Instagram.
“They had a really lucky sighting day to see that many animals at once. If you do look back at their aerial survey data, you do see that they’ve had a lot of days with like 50 sightings, 50 to 60 plus sightings. So, it’s maybe double of what they normally see,” Lauren Brandkamp, with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, six out of the 13 great whale species are classified as endangered or vulnerable, even after decades of protection.
