MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. -- A rare northern right whale -- one of only about 400 of its kind left in the world -- was spotted on Friday off Melbourne Beach.

Volunteers are tracking the first northern right whale to be confirmed this year off Brevard County beaches, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported.

The endangered whale was first spotted at about 8 a.m., roughly 2 miles south of Ocean Avenue in Melbourne Beach.

"She's not surfacing too much," said Julie Albert, who coordinates a right whale monitoring program for the Marine Resources council, an environmental group based in Palm Bay.

Albert estimated the whale to be about 40 feet in length. At noontime, it was about 200 to 300 yards offshore of Aquarina, swimming south at a rapid pace, and occasionally rolling over.

"She's traveling with dolphins," Albert said.

There are thought to be only about 400 northern right whales remaining in the world. They were once hunted for oil. Fishermen dubbed them the "right" whale to hunt because they are generally slow moving and easy to harpoon.

Collisions with ships is the leading cause of deaths for whales.

Last week, two right whales -- believed to be a mother and calf -- were spotted about 200 feet off a Volusia County beach.

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