Whales Spotted in Two Jersey Shore Rivers

Whales are an occasional sight in the ocean off the Jersey coast, especially in late summer as the water warms up...but three whales were spotted on Sunday in two Monmouth County rivers!

The three young Beluga whales were spotted near Highlands on May 31st, while playing the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers.

It may be cool to see them in our area, but unfortunately, the area can be very dangerous for them, as they can wind up trapped and unable to swim back out to the ocean.

The three whales are being tracked by experts from the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, but it seems like they have since left our area. When they were first spotted, Bob Schoelkopf, Director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, was hopeful that rain would change the salinity of the water in the rivers and send the whales back out to sea.

Judging from the last few days of weather, it seems that's exactly what happened.

If whales are spotted in our area again, it's important to not get too close to them...The MMSC recommends staying at least 150 feet away -- for your safety AND theirs.

In other "Tales from the Sea," our girl Mary Lee is back! The 3400 lb. Great White shark surfaced off the coast of Avalon, near Cape May, on Saturday.

I'm loving being able to follow all of these amazing animals!