Humpback Whale Sightings Spike In Waters Around UK; Population Growth Or Search For Declining Food In Warming Ocean

The slap of an enormous tail upon grey waters as a humpback whale leaps from the sea is becoming an increasingly possible – although still rare – natural thrill around Britain. The 30-tonne, 15 metre-long migratory giants are being spotted in growing numbers and locations this winter from Kent to the Isles of Scilly. There have been 17 sightings of the whales around the Isles of Scilly between 29 December and 8 January this year. Several individuals spotted include one called Pi because of the distinctive markings on her fluke (the lobes of her tail), who has turned up for a winter vacation around the archipelago every year since 2019. More unusually, humpback whales have also been seen in the eastern English Channel, close to the coast at Deal, Kent, and Eastbourne, Sussex. The Deal and Eastbourne sightings were within an hour. “I know humpback whales are fast but they are not that fast,” said Thea Taylor of the Sussex Dolphin Project. This means that the sightings were of at least two individuals.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/18/humpback-whale-sightings-kent-isles-of-scilly