Has a whale ever been spotted in the Great Lakes?

The time of year when we all start scanning the bays for whale sightings. I can officially report that the Great Lakes Whale Migration has begun for 2023. As in previous years, the whales have been showing up right on time each year – April 1st – and this year is no exception.



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A few even submitted the issue to Snopes.com, debunkers of urban legends, which investigated the issue last summer and pronounced that stories of whales in Lake Michigan are the result of “mistakes, pranks and hoaxes.”

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Lake sturgeons are the biggest fish in the Great Lakes.

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In only one case was a shark actually found in Lake Michigan, and it was proven to be a hoax. April 25, 1969. Two coho salmon fishermen pulled a 29-inch (73-centimeter) shark from the water around two miles off the coast of Milwaukee.

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Alligators are rarely found in the Great Lakes. Although some alligators thrive in freshwater, it's just too cold in the north for them to survive. They don't typically live farther north than North Carolina. It's unclear how the alligator arrived to Lake Michigan.

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Little known to most New Yorkers is the fact that freshwater dolphins once thrived in waters of Lake Erie. The cool waters kept the size of these dolphins uniquely small compared to their ocean swimming cousins - evidence suggest adults rarely reached 24 inches in length.

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Lake sturgeon are the largest fish in Lake Superior. They are among the oldest fish in the lake too. Did you know that a lake sturgeon can live to be older than 100 years? This species of fish has also been around for a long time—about 150 million years.

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The Great Lakes Biggest Predator Michigan's biggest predator in the Great Lakes is a Sea Lamprey. In the very famous words of Randy Jackson, it's going to be a no for me dawg.

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There are no sharks in Lake Erie, pronounces Officer James Mylett of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

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The sea lamprey is an invasive species living in Canada's Great Lakes that had been kept under control for decades - until now. Erica Vella explains how the pandemic fuelled a population spike among the “vampire fish,” and what's being done to stop them.

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Also called rock sturgeon, this freshwater fish is the oldest and largest native species in the Great Lakes.

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