Seals, Sharks and Cetaceans (4): National Whale and Dolphin Week

Bottlenose Dolphins in Loch Carron, Scotland, 2010

Did you know that we are nearing the end of the 2012 National Whale and Dolphin Week, an initiative of the Sea Watch Foundation?

I am unlikely to see any whales or dolphins in the next couple of days, so I thought I would mark the week with a few photos of dolphins I have watched off the British Isles. Mind you, it seems as though there are Killer Whales not too far away: you can read about a recent sighting up the coast, off Bacton Beach in Norfolk. You can read about a previous sighting here. I have also been reading the Whales in Wales report of Risso and Common Dolphin sightings off West Wales.

Bottlenose Dolphins in the Moray Firth ...

Do leave a comment if you see any whales or dolphins off Britain. If your sightings are in the Scottish Hebrides, do record them on the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust site here.

Sadly, the only real whale I have ever seen in the UK was a dead one many years ago, washed up on a beach in Cornwall, so for my whale photo, I shall have to make do with this Britain in Bloom sculpture in Whitby. The wood has found a new future as a whale, and my hope is that now that our whaling days are past, these magnificent mammals will continue to inhabit our oceans.