Ireland's wildlife logo.

whales

Incredible humpback whale footage off Ireland’s south coast

Humpbacks and dolphins West Cork

This breathtaking drone footage of four Humpback Whales interacting with a pod of Short-beaked Common Dolphins was captured off the coast of West Cork in late April by researchers from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). https://vimeo.com/332435303 The footage is part of an exciting new project called Whale Track….

Watching Whales, Dolphins and Basking Sharks

A brace of fin whales on the surface with the West Cork coast in the background

Two of our most popular articles here on Ireland’s Wildlife are features on How to Watch Basking Sharks and How to Watch Whales and Dolphins. Ireland’s marine wildlife is showcasing in an incredible two-part documentary, “Ireland’s Deep Atlantic”, at the moment as part of RTÉ’s Our Wild Island series of programmes….

New whale species for Ireland: Bowhead Whale confirmed at Carlingford

Bowhead Whale Ireland

The Irish Whale and Dolphin group (IWDG) has confirmed that an unidentified whale seen and photographed by the crew of a pilot vessel at the mouth of Carlingford Lough yesterday is a young bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). This Arctic whale species has never been recorded before in Irish water, and fittingly becomes….

“Britain’s” Whales: stunning aerial humpback footage, filmed in Ireland

Humpback whales filmed off the south coast of Ireland last year will feature prominently in a new wildlife documentary to air on UK TV network ITV this coming Good Friday (25/03/2016) at 8pm. The film crew captured spectacular drone footage of humpback whales bubble-net feeding off The Blasket Islands in Co. Kerry in….

Female killer whale washed up in Co. Waterford

Stranded Killer Whale Ireland

The unusual stranding of a 5 metre female killer whale on the beach at Saleen, near Tramore in Co. Waterford on Friday (30/01/2015) has been in the news this weekend. The whale, which was dead when it washed up, was said to be in “very fresh condition”, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). The whale’s teeth were very….

Humpback heaven in Kalbarri, Western Australia

Humpback whale Kalbarri

“Get ready to hold on,” skipper Ayden Curic yelled from the bridge as he gunned the engines and the boat surged into the aquatic maelstrom. At the point where Western Australia’s second largest river, the Murchison, collides with the crashing breakers of the Indian ocean sits the quiet little town of….

New humpback whale off Irish south coast

Humpback whale HBIRL29

A new humpback whale for Irish waters has been added to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s (IWDG) photo-id catalogue for the species. West Cork whale watching operator Colin Barnes of Cork Whale Watch found the lone humpback during an afternoon whale watching trip out of Reen Pier near Union Hall.  According to….

Pilot whales strand on Donegal beach

Pilot Whales Donegal

Four of thirteen pilot whales that stranded overnight on a beach in Co. Donegal have died. The other nine have been successfully re-floated by a local rescue effort that involved up to 100 people at its peak according to reports. The whales were spotted on Ballyness beach at Falcarragh, Co Donegal at 8am….

West Cork fin whales as they should be seen

Fin whale surfacing off the West Cork coast

  After the traumatic events and harrowing images of the  last few days I thought I’d post a few photographs of  healthy fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) off the West Cork coast. This is how they look at their best:  

Baltimore whale stranding: a good news story?

Padraig Whooley of the IWDG offering interpretation of the whale stranding in Baltimore

I was getting settled at my desk yesterday morning, pondering what to write for my Irish Independent wildlife column, when the phone beeped. It was a message from Padraig Whooley, sightings coordinator with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, telling me that a suspected fin whale had live-stranded in Baltimore,….

IWDG whale watching course: places still available

Places are still available on the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s summer whale-watching course on Cape Clear, 20-22 July 2012. I had the great pleasure of attending the course in May… and while conditions dictated that cetacean pickings were a tad slim over that weekend, it was a thoroughly enjoyable….

Ireland’s nature and biodiversity featuring invasive alien

Earlier today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the fifth of their four-yearly State of the Environment reports “Ireland’s Environment 2012: An Assessment”. I read the press release, scanned through the main points with interest, and went straight for my main area of interest, Chapter 6, Nature and Biodiversity… I….