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Humpback
Whale in the Firth of Clyde,
copyright Elise Rankin
this is the
only image of the whale currently in the Clyde
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An adult humpback
whale, possibly greater than 12 metres in length, has been sighted in
the Firth of Clyde last week – the fifth such whale to be seen off
western Scotland in the past month, compared with a usual total of
just one or two per year.
The whale was sighted
off Tighnabruaich in the Kyles of Bute on 6 July. On 8 July it
surfaced alongside the Scottish Ocean Youth Trust’s yacht, spouting
and swimmingly strongly in a northward direction into Loch Fyne. The
whale was observed breaching out of the water and lob-tailing – a
dramatic manoeuvre in which the animal throws its massive tail, up to
five metres across, out of the water, creating a huge splash visible
for miles. This behaviour could be used for
