Rare Whale Species Captured on Video for the First Time

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A video of a rare species of whale has been released, marking the first time the whale has been captured on film in the wild.

The True’s beaked whale has only ever been seen alive by a few people, The Washington Post reports.

They are thought to spend over 90% of their lives deep under the ocean surface.

A 46-second video clip of the animal was taken by students on a trip to the Azores, a set of islands in the North Atlantic sea.

The video has been released along with a new study that examines the mysterious whales.

“Imagine. These are animals the size of elephants that we just can’t find,” said the study’s lead author Natacha Aguilar de Soto.

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Write to Zamira Rahim at zamira.rahim@time.com