Humpback whale breaching water off Co Wexford coast caught on camera

A HUMPBACK whale breached clear of the water 11 times over a 45-minute period off the southeast coast to the astonishment of Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) researchers.

“One of the largest creatures on the planet exploding out of the water is truly one of the most remarkable sights in the animal kingdom,” Pádraig Whooley of the whale research group said yesterday.

Mr Whooley caught the breachings on camera, and the activity was also recorded by wildlife film-maker Ross Bartley. He is working on a documentary for Crossing the Line Films on the humpback whale’s migration between Ireland and the Cape Verde islands.

The active humpback was one of four species identified by the whale-watching team off the Co Wexford Hook peninsula over the past weekend. Fin whales, harbour porpoises and common dolphins were also recorded and logged by the team. Mr Whooley said analysis of the images of the humpback whale’s tail fluke showed this to be a new humpback, not previously recorded in Irish waters. “This exciting discovery brings the number of humpback whales documented in Irish waters to 11, with many of these re-sighted on an annual basis,” he says.

“The high ‘re-sighting’ rate indicates just how small the Irish humpback whale population is, reflecting the fact that only quite recently scientists thought humpback whales were close to global extinction, after centuries of commercial whaling,” he says.

The research is “a crucial tool in monitoring what they believe is a slow, but steady recovery of this enigmatic species,” Mr Whooley said.