Right whale
Right whales have also on rare occasion been observed in the Mediterranean Sea. Since the two records of a stranding (Italy) and a capture of one of a pair seen (Algeria) in early 20th century, one sighting recorded in Dutch sighting scheme possibly between 1954 and 1957, only one possible sighting have been confirmed. In May 1991, a petty officer of the Italian Navy happened to be in the water with his camera about off the small island of Sant' Antioco (southwestern Sardinia), when a right whale happened to swim by – his photos comprise the only confirmed sighting in the 20th century; on the other hand however, reliability of the record have been questioned due to failures to contact the photographers. Earlier known occurrences of right whales in the basin include the stranding of a juvenile near Taranto (southeastern Italy) in 1877 and the sighting of two (one of which was later captured) in the bay of Castiglione (Algiers) in 1888 and Portugal. The Norway sightings appear to be of vagrants, or strays from the western Atlantic stock.