Featured image: Franca van der Veer
A whale thought to be near extinction has been spotted making a splash in Donegal Bay this week.
Experts have validated the sighting of a rare Northern Right Whale off Muckross Head and Killybegs on Monday.
One of the world’s most endangered large whale species, this whale hasn’t been seen this side of the Atlantic in at least 50-60 years.
Several people holidaying in the area caught glimpses of the whale when they saw it breaching on Monday evening and slowly heading northwards.
Dutch visitor Franca van der Veer, amazed by the creature, captured this photo:
Photo of the North Atlantic right whale sighting at Muckross Head. Photo: Franca van der Veer
Pádraig Whooley, Sightings Officer of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said the validation of the sighting was made in collaboration with international experts. IWDG consulted with colleagues in the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbour, Maine, USA who in turn forwarded video and images with the acknowledged Right whale experts in the States at the New England Aquarium who confirmed that this is indeed a North Atlantic Right whale.
It’s now the first EVER confirmed sighting of this leviathan since the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group records began 35 years ago.
Pádraig said: “This is an exceptionally rare record for this side of the Atlantic, where this species has been largely absent for many decades, if not centuries. The clue is in their name … “right whale”, so named by the early whalers because they stayed close to the shore, were curious around boats and floated when killed by harpoon. For all these reasons, they were the preferred target for the early whalers and much of the damage to the right whale population was likely done long before the advent of modern steam ships and explosive harpoons.”
Distinctive for its V shaped spout and white patches of skin, it’s thought that fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales remain. Their population, once in the thousands, was harmed by hunters and commercial whalers over the centuries.
Pádraig adds: “Whales left and almost all of these live along the east coast of the United States, and the outlook for their survival isn’t a good one, as both ship strike and entanglement in fishing gear remove individuals from a dwindling population annually.”
Local man Derek McGinley, who spotted the whale, said there are always amazing things to see along the Donegal coast. In the past week, he said: “We’ve seen dolphins almost every day, seals, and a whale. Muckross Head and Carraigín Head round at Sliabh Liag are great spots for watching because they go out a fair bit so anything travelling north or south would often come in by.”
Marine wildlife enthusiasts hoping to get a look at the whale with their own eyes are asked to be cautious and mindful of the rarity of this creature.
Pádraig is asking people to look for the whale from the shoreline using optics only.
“North Atlantic Right whales are most susceptible to ship strike and even a collision with a small vessel can have fatal consequences,” he warned.
“There is an enormous onus on us all to ensure this whale remains as long as it needs in Donegal bay, where it is most likely feeding on tiny copepods, without running a gauntlet of small craft. As with all whales, they have the full protection of the law under the Irish Wildlife Act and Marine Notice 15 of 2005 which sets out the “Guidelines for Correct Procedures When Encountering Whales and Dolphins in Irish Coastal Waters”.”
“This is our chance to help a population of whales on the very brink. Please give it space.”
