There has been a confirmed sighting of a humpback whale off the coast of Wexford this week. Humpback whales are very rare in Irish waters, and this particular whale is on his first visit to Ireland.

Humpback whales are an endangered species, so it’s terrific to have the opportunity to see them here in the wild off the coast of Wexford. They are amongst the largest animals on earth. Their vital statistics are:
Size: 48 to 62.5 ft (14.6 to 19 m)
Weight: 40 tons (36 metric tons)

That’s about equivalent to the weight of three buses!

A camera crew from the Irish national television station, RTE, filmed a research trip by IWDG to identify the whale this week. The arrival of the whale is important enough to merit a spot on our national evening news. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, (IWDG), monitor the movements of these creatures in Irish waters.
This time last year, another humpback whale came to Wexford and put on quite a performance for the evening news by breaching 11 times in 40 minutes. That whale even featured in a wildlife documentary.
Whale watching and wildlife trips can be arranged for our guests, so if a sea safari is what you fancy please do contact us.

Postscript: 19 January 2011, another humpback whale has been seen about 1 km from the shore at Curracloe beach, accompanied by about 10,000 seagulls. It’s such a rare event that it was featured on National TV (RTE) news again last night. That’s humpback whale number 14 to be confirmed in Irish waters.

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Have you ever seen a whale or dolphin in the wild? Please let us know in the comments below!