Dear all
This winter, another humpback whale, seemingly successfully, exploits
Dutch coastal waters (southern North Sea). This represents at the least the
9th individual since 2003 in this area after an absence of >300 years in
strandings and/or sightings data.
An earlier one, May 2007, was photoidentified and relocated in
Ireland in Sep 2007, only to return to the Netherlands again shortly in Nov
that same year.
This is a new animal, and because the occurrence of these whales
in the S Bight is a both novelty for us and a risky affair for the whales (4
earlier whales died here, some in fishing gear, one struck by a ship off
Belgium), we are very keen to learn more about their movements.
We failed thus far to get a decent picture of the flukes, but will keep
trying. However, some excellent shots of the dorsal at short range may be
enough to link this sighting to other unusual recent records within the North
Sea or Baltic, or indeed even the west of Britain.
The question is: Does anyone recognise, or seems to recognise this
animal?? Check out:
http://salkodewolf.overweg.com/frame.php?itemId=140319
Any suggestions are very welcome with Kees Camphuysen,
[email protected] Even more detailed pictures are available if
needed.
PDFs of a paper (see below) on the previous well-documented case are
available on request
Camphuysen C.J. 2007. Foraging humpback whale (Megaptera
novaeangliae) in the Marsdiep area (Wadden Sea), May 2007 and a review
of sightings and strandings in the southern North Sea, 2003-2007. Lutra
50(1): 31-42.
Kees Camphuysen
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Kees (C.J.) Camphuysen
, [email protected]
Ankerstraat 20, 1794 BJ Oosterend, Texel, The Netherlands
+ 31 222 318744, mobiel + 31 (060171836
tevens
Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee (Royal NIOZ)
P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands + 31 222 369488
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