Watch this beluga whale swim off San Diego — 2,000 miles from its Arctic home

A beluga whale featured in a drone video Friday off San Diego traveled a long way for its moment of viral fame, KSWB reports.

The whale was more than 2,000 miles from its normal habitat in the Arctic, according to the station. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wildlife officials are monitoring the whale.

A drone video of the whale was captured by Captain Domenic Biagini of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, who posted it to Instagram.

“I honestly don’t even know what else to say!” wrote Biagini, who added that the farthest south a beluga whale had been seen previously on the West Coast was off Washington in 1940.

The video shows the white whale, with a distinctive bulge on its head for echolocation, surfacing and swimming in the Pacific Ocean near Point Loma.

One of the smallest species of whales, beluga whales reach up to 20 feet in length, National Geographic reported. They can weigh up to 1.5 tons.

They are listed as “near threatened” and are common in the Arctic, according to the publication.

Beluga whales do spend part of their time in warmer waters, but not normally as far south as San Diego, KUSI reported.

This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Watch this beluga whale swim off San Diego — 2,000 miles from its Arctic home."