Humpback whale in Dundrum Bay

Humpback whale in Dundrum Bay

14 June 2017

AS walkers enjoyed the beauty of Newcastle’s promenade last week, few will have realised that one of the giants of the deep was just offshore.

A humpback whale spent several days feeding in Dundrum Bay, the first time in three years that such an animal has been spotted in Northern Ireland waters.

The whale, which can grow up to 40 feet long, was first spotted on Tuesday amid concern it may have been in difficulties and was at risk of being beached.

However, experts from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), travelled to the area on Wednesday and spent several hours in the Bay looking for the whale.

Group member, Dave Williams, later posted on Facebook that the animal was not in distress and was an adult humpback in good health which was moving “stealthily in the shallow water”.

Dave searched from the Bloody Bridge into Dundrum Bay and reported seeing the whale breach six times. The closest it was spotted to the shore was 250 metres south of Newcastle harbour.

Dave eventually lost sight of the whale as it headed south towards Annalong.

Padraig Whooley, from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, said sightings of humpback whales are “extremely rare events” and last week’s visit to Dundrum Bay was the first validated humpback whale sighting for Northern Ireland in the past three years.

“The whale would have been feeding on small aquatic animals such as scad and herring, which the Irish sea is rich in,” Said Padraig. “As the humpback whale has bristles instead of teeth it has to swallow its prey which forces it to be limited to consuming small aquatic animals.

“This feeding is in preparation for the winter during which the whales will migrate to warmer waters such as Hawaii and live off their fat stores while searching for a mate,” he added.

There have only been six recorded sightings of humpback whales off Northern Ireland since 1990 with four of these occurring in the County Down area and the last being off Donaghadee in July 2014.