As anyone who has spent hours canvassing the ocean knows, spotting a whale in the wild is always a magical experience. Travelers head to Oregon’s coast in search of aquatic life year-round, most often catching gray whales peeking out of the Pacific.
But visitors in Depoe Bay had the sighting to end all sightings this week when the world’s most majestic gray whale surfaced just long enough to spew a full rainbow out of its blowhole (or at least that’s how it appeared).
The whale was likely making its way from Baja California, Mexico, where thousands of gray whales breed during the winter months, back up to Alaska, according to the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association. They list the best spots for whale watching on their website.
The lucky whale watchers can be heard oohing and aahing, and we can’t blame them. This phenomenon has been spotted before, however: A video made the rounds in 2015 when a humpback whale had the same perfect timing in Newport Beach, California.
The world has been obsessed with unicorn and mermaid-inspired everything lately, but rainbow-spouting whales might just be the next big thing.