One of the world’s rarest large whale species appeared off the northwest coast of Ireland for the first time in over a century.
Adrian Maguire was on vacation and fishing for mackerel in County Donegal’s McSwynes Bay when he captured footage of a North Atlantic right whale — one of just an estimated 400 left in the wild, according to the Guardian.
Conor Ryan, an honorary research fellow at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, noted it was the first one spotted in the region in 114 years.
Using the videos Maguire took, Ryan and his colleagues identified the species from the whale’s large, crusty white callosities on its skin caused by whale lice — a feature unique only to right whales in the region.
“I was very skeptical at first because it’s such an unbelievable occurrence,” he told the publication.
North Atlantic right whales are typically found closer to the eastern coast of North America. Though they used to populate the waters closer to Europe, overhunting nearly made the mammal extinct, and now their sightings on that side of the hemisphere are few and far between.
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List changed the status of the North Atlantic right whale to critically endangered in 2020. It believes just 200-250 mature individuals remain and that their overall numbers are dwindling.
Ryan added that fishing line entanglements and vessel strikes — issues all whales and marine life face — will likely prevent its population from fully recovering. Nonetheless, the surfacing near Ireland serves as a “glimmer of hope.”
Similar promising events include a North Pacific right whale making a cameo near California’s Marin County and sei whales popping up more frequently near Argentina’s Patagonian coast.
Padraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group called the North Atlantic right whale’s appearance “wonderful” but that anyone who sees one should “please give it space.”
“I just looked in amazement at the size of it,” Maguire said. “I’ve never experienced that in my life. The sound of the blowing — it’s great to hear that in real life.”
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