“Extinct” grey whale sighted off Israeli coast, 8,000 nautical miles from home. Lost or making a comeback thanks to global warming? (In the above video, Israelis taking the video are calling for Willie to show his/her tail.)

Sighting any kind of whale in the Mediterranean Sea is a novelty. But when a whale sighting turns out to be of a grey whale, said to be instinct in this part of the world, then this event is something that has many scientists excited as well as baffled.When this whale was seen off the Israeli coastal city of Herzliya, it really created a buzz since the species has been extinct in the North Atlantic since the 17th or 18th century.

The whale, said to be a mature adult measuring around 12 meters or 39 feet, is now mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean. It may have swam across the “Northwest-Passage” between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, due to the amount of ice there being less now due possibly to global warming.

How it got into the warmer waters of the Mediterranean is matter of speculation; but those studying the habits of such sea creatures say it may have been looking for warmer waters to calve in, like they normally do off the Baja California coast. And the Mediterranean, being warmer, may have confused this individual who was already a bit off course.

After all, Tel Aviv, Beirut or Gaza City are not exactly La Paz Mexico.