Cornwall is well known for being a marine wildlife hotspot. There was even speculation that shark sightings were on the rise this year. But there’s also been some other (slightly less scary) surprises in the Cornish waters of late: humpback whales.
To the delight of pretty much everyone, there have been several rare sightings of humpbacks around the Cornish coast this month. The most recent one was spotted near St Michael’s Mount, West Cornwall, with photographs of the mammal’s tail breaching the sea shared by the National Coastwatch Institution.
Humpbacks live in all oceans across the world and travel long distances every year, with one of the longest migrations of any mammal on the planet. They can be spotted jumping out of the water, or slapping the surface of the sea with their pectoral fins and tails.
According to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, humpback whale sightings have really shot up over the past few years. The charity is encouraging people to ‘put wildlife first’ by keeping their distance if they are lucky enough to have an encounter with one.
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