blue whales off northern ireland again
By jb78000
@jb78000 (15139)
August 14, 2009 3:43pm CST
blue whales have returned to the waters around ireland and also it appears scotland - which could be very good news as it may mean populations are recovering.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ireland-blue-whales723.html#cr
if your country has a coast what whales and dolphins are seen off it? have you seen any yourself? there are a number that come close to the scottish coast (and now apparently more than there were 10 years ago) although i have only seen the bottlenose dolphins of the moray firth.
4 responses
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
14 Aug 09
That's so cool. Have you seen a whale? I've only seen one on television. I live in the midwestern US and we have no salt water near us. I've been to the West coast (California) a lot of times but, I've never taken one of the whale watching tours. My avi is actually from my last trip to Santa Cruz.
2 people like this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
14 Aug 09
You should. The big thing on the California coast is the Grey whales who migrate down from the Arctic to Baja California every year to mate and have their calves before migrating back up the coast to the Arctic where the feeding grounds are.
2 people like this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
14 Aug 09
Hi jb, I live by the coast just outside a fishing village and have never heard of a whale being sighted, although one of the fisherman is often mistaken himself for a walrus. Some friends have reported back on dolphins maybe being a mile out, when they've been fishing at night. One friend told me that he forgot about the fishing and just took in the moonlight and dolphins.
Now one thing I've not seen myself but are apparently around, and a terrible nuisance, are seals. They've been known to steal the catch of the night by sneaking up in darkness and giving the boat a good nudge.
1 person likes this
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
14 Aug 09
That's really good news. Blues are usually deep water whales but I suppose that the plankton that attracts whale sharks to those waters will attract the big whales as well. The Blues might also be migrating up to the Arctic to feed in the rich water at the edge of the ice.
I saw a news item recently that said that whale sharks are becoming more common in British waters as well as other species that are usually found further south. Apparently the water is getting warmer.
1 person likes this
@yogesh0505 (112)
•
15 Aug 09
it is an actual increase in blue whales passing through off shore waters
