{"id":316853,"date":"2026-08-08T19:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/316853\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:40:30","slug":"video-humpback-whale-delights-whale-watchers-off-coast-of-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/316853\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO: Humpback whale delights whale watchers off coast of New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"sub-text\">Whale watches on a cruise off the coast of New York City were thrilled to catch a humpback whale breaching on camera. At least 500 individual whales have been reported in waters around New York City since 2012, according to Gotham Whale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">NEW YORK\u2013 A majestic humpback whale was caught on camera breaching the waters off <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/local-weather\/new-york\/new-york-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">New York City<\/a> in late July, around the same time the 500th individual humpback whale was documented in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">Video from Chris St. Lawrence captured the video while aboard an American Princess whale watching cruise, which partners with the nonprofit Gotham Whale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/earth-space\/10-of-largest-marine-animals-world-ocean-whale-shark-dinosaur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">FROM BLUE WHALES TO PREHISTORIC GIANTS, THESE ARE 10 OF THE LARGEST MARINE ANIMALS TO EVER EXIST<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/screenshot-2026-08-07-at-3.42.51-pm.png\" alt=\"A humpback whale leaps out of the water.\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">A humpback whale leaps out of the water.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"sub-text\"> (Chris St Lawrence via Storyful \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">Since 2012, <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_4\" href=\"https:\/\/gothamwhale.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Gotham Whale<\/a> has made an effort to document all the individual humpback whales seen around <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/category\/new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">New York<\/a> waters by their distinct tale patterns.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">They did this by partnering with local tour boats and the public to get photos of these fantastic beasts like in the video above.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/earth-space\/stingrays-swimming-heavily-polluted-new-york-city-waterway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">SEE IT: STINGRAYS MAKE SURPRISE APPEARANCE IN POLLUTED NEW YORK CITY WATERWAY<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">In July, the nonprofit officially recorded its 500th whale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">In the video by St. Lawrence, whale watchers &#8220;ooh&#8221; and &#8220;ahh&#8221; at the sight of the whale coming up for air and splashing its tail.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">Gotham Whale said before 2018, 10 to 30 whales would be documented a year. Since then, the nonprofit records 80 to 100 whales a year around New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/earth-space\/great-white-shark-percy-long-island-new-york-ocearch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">GREAT WHITE SHARK PERCY PINGS 14 MILES FROM LONG ISLAND COAST<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/screenshot-2026-08-07-at-3.43.22-pm.png\" alt=\"A humpback whale sticks its fins out of the water. \"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">A humpback whale sticks its fins out of the water.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"sub-text\"> (Chris St Lawrence via Storyful \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">&#8220;Over the past 15 years, we have learned so much by tracking New York City&#8217;s humpback whales, watching many return here year after year\u2014even following some from juveniles to adulthood,&#8221; said Dr. Danielle Brown, Gotham Whale\u2019s director of research and board president. &#8220;500 humpback whales in our catalog is exciting, but we must also remember that with more whales comes more overlap with human activities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">In one clip from the video, the whale leaps into the air with the New York City skyline in the background, creating an incredible visual proving how close these <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/category\/animals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">animals<\/a> can get to shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/earth-space\/nypd-tracks-sharks-from-above-drones-beaches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">EYES IN THE SKY: NYPD USES DRONES TO TRACK SHARKS OFF NEW YORK CITY BEACHES<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/screenshot-2026-08-07-at-3.43.35-pm.png\" alt=\"A humpback whale breaches with the New York City skyline in the background.\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">A humpback whale breaches with the New York City skyline in the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"sub-text\"> (Chris St Lawrence via Storyful \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">Warming <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/category\/ocean\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">ocean<\/a> temperatures are prompting a change in the distribution of different groups of marine animals like fish, sharks, whales and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">This means that more humpback whales are spending time in the New York\/<a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/category\/new-jersey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">New Jersey<\/a> region, nearing busy ports at being at increased risk for vessel strikes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/earth-space\/endangered-right-whales-spotted-east-coast-shipping-corridor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">ENDANGERED RIGHT WHALES SPOTTED IN ONE OF THE EAST COAST\u2019S BUSIEST SHIPPING CORRIDORS<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/screenshot-2026-08-07-at-3.43.54-pm.png\" alt=\"A humpback whale scoops fish up into its mouth.\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">A humpback whale scoops fish up into its mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"sub-text\"> (Chris St Lawrence via Storyful \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">Entanglement in fishing and marine gear and boat strikes remain one of the leading causes of death of large whales like humpbacks across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">&#8220;My father founded Gotham Whale believing that people protect what they understand,&#8221; said Paul &#8220;PJ&#8221; Sieswerda, Gotham Whale board vice president. &#8220;Every whale documented is another giant step toward understanding and protecting the remarkable wildlife living just beyond New York City\u2019s skyline.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fxw_earth-space_article_main-content_article-body_2_13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/how-to-watch-fox-weather-on-tv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-v-438398f6=\"\">Gotham Whale is based on Staten Island, and studies, advocates for and educates about the whales and marine mammals around the New York City area.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whale watches on a cruise off the coast of New York City were thrilled to catch a humpback&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1457,7631,1066,9,24,55,54,56,12561,61208,618,2197],"class_list":["post-316853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-animals","tag-beaches","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-ocean","tag-stay22","tag-us","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}