Large pod of rarely-seen beaked whales spotted in Monterey Bay

MONTEREY, Calif. (KGO) -- A rarely-seen species of whale made a major appearance in the Monterey Bay.

Monterey Bay Whale Watch shared this video with ABC7 News. It shows 24 Baird's beaked whales and three calves swimming last Thursday.

Nancy Black, a marine biologist who owns Monterey Bay Whale Watch said, "This is the largest group of beaked whales I have seen over the last 30 years, and I have only seen this species of whale about 10 times in my life."

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Beaked whales sightings are rare as the animals normally stay far offshore, making them among the least studied and most mysterious of all whales.

Black says beaked whales are very unusual looking with a large bulbous forehead and a long bottle-like nose.

Monterey Bay Whale Watch says this is the first time it has captured drone footage of the species.