Dear MARMAMers,
Apologies for this late message but there was some trouble in
publishing it.
We would like to inform you of quite an unusual sighting
in the Pelagos Sanctuary this week. On July 23, around 11am, one
of the whale-watching operators we work with made a sighting of
a 7m humpback whale following a 15m fin whale. The humpback was
swimming about 30m behind the fin whale, following it and diving
in synchrony. Pictures of the humpback were taken and a video
was also made, leaving no doubt on the identification of both
species. The
two animals were sighted between Nice and Calvi (Corsica)
about 30NM off Nice. They were heading west at a speed of 1-2
knots. The humppback has not been seen since then.
Sightings of humpback whales have been increasing in the
Mediterranean Sea in the last years but this is, to our
knowledge, the first time such an observation is made in the
Med.
Jérôme Couvat
Souffleurs d'Ecume
www.souffleursdecume.com