BOSTON -- New England Aquarium researcher Monica Zani says she is the first person ever to photograph the world’s rarest whale, the North Atlantic right, give birth, and the photos of that experience have now been released. An experience the world waited over two years to see.

Photos: Rarest Whale Gives Birth

Zani was doing a routine tracking mission for right whales over the Georgia and Florida coast in 2005, when she noticed blood in the water and a whale thrashing around.

“I was very hesitant at first. ‘Did anyone else see that red in the water?’ I asked. The pilot said he thought he saw blood too,” she said.

At first glance, Zani thought it looked like an injury.

“We see a lot of vessel traffic in the critical habitat, everything from large commercial ships, and naval warships, and nuclear submarines, to commercial fishing boats, casino boats and private recreational boats, and it makes us nervous,” she said.

“Unfortunately, working with right whales you see a lot of ship strikes, you see a lot of entanglements, you see a lot of dead whales. Then we saw the calf on her back.”

Zani said she only wishes she would have thought to get out the video camera.

The New England Aquarium said scientists must first publish their work in academic venues, which is what caused the more than two year delay in the release of the photos.

Every fall, the North Atlantic right whales swim from New England waters to the southern coast of Georgia and Florida to have their calves in warmer waters.

Right whales have a population of less than 400.