Baby whale close to shore wows beachgoers, but the story is actually really sad

A juvenile gray whale has been spotted multiple times in the last few weeks off the coast of California. While the whale has been described as a "thrill" for beachgoers, its story is actually quite sad.

Most recently, the whale, dubbed "Bay Boy" because it continues to travel from bay to bay, was spotted in Long Beach, California, on Monday. Others claim to have seen the whale off nearby Seal Beach on Tuesday.

According to NBC Los Angeles, the whale has been spotted traveling up the coast after it was separated from its mother while migrating a few weeks ago.

Here's a clip of the what some believe to be the same whale in Laguna Beach earlier this month.

Peter Wellerstein, director of the Marine Animal Rescue project in Los Angeles County, told NBC Los Angeles the whale was emaciated, and some of its ribs were showing.

"It's not in good shape," he said of the 20-foot whale. "There is not much we can do but try to herd it out or get it going in the right direction, but we don't want to be too invasive with it."

Most gray whales travel in pods of at least two, so the lonely Bay Boy is quite unusual. Additionally, Krysta Higuchi of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center tells the Los Angeles Times that gray whales should be in or swimming to the Gulf of Alaska for feeding at this time of year, not hanging out in Southern California.

"The juvenile may be lost and staying near the coastline for protection," Higuchi told the Times.