Video footage has been captured of what appears to be a humpback whale breaching the sea near an iconic Game of Thrones location.
The magnificent mammal was spotted by National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) volunteers earlier this month, near St Michael's Mount, in Mount's Bay, reports Cornwall Live. The Mount was home to the House of Velaryon in GoT spin-off 'House of the Dragon'.
The NCI is a charity that aims "to assist in the protection and preservation of life at sea and along the United Kingdom Coastline". The organisation has almost 60 stations across the UK, all manned by volunteers.
NCI Penzance station manager Dave Stevens was in the lookout station when his team spotted the massive mammal breaching the surface off the coast. Stevens said that although they weren't sure what species of whale it was at first, after sharing the video on their Facebook page, they received comments suggesting it was a humpback whale.
"You don't see [humpback whales] very often and I've never actually seen on in Cornwall before, so we weren't sure what it was at first," Dave said, "If it was an Orca, we would have been able to tell what it was straight away because it's very distinguishable but to us, we don't see humpbacks very often, so it just looked like another whale. We have a chart at the station but it's still difficult to tell the difference.
"But after we posted the video on Facebook, we got lots of comments saying it was a humpback, so that's what I assume it was. It was in the bay for around five minutes and it was quite the sight to see. It brought back lots of personal memories for me when I worked on cruise ships for many years and we followed whale migrations from the coast of Mexico all the way to Alaska."
Over the weekend, NCI volunteers at the Rame Head lookout station in South East Cornwall, near Plymouth Sound, observed at least four whales plus a dolphins about, one mile off the headland.
And NCI volunteers in Hampshire got to witness a wandering walrus this month. It has since been identified by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) as "Thor' who has been known to visit the Netherlands, Dieppe and Brittany in recent weeks, was also spotted at their Calshot Tower near The Solent. After spending the morning sleeping on the beach, Thor left around mid-day.
Marine conservation officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Abby Crosby, added: “We were incredibly excited to hear this news. Only in the last few years have humpback whale sightings really shot up. Before then, it would’ve been extremely rare to spot one around the UK.
“People may not realise how incredible our seas are, even in the winter months. It’s magnificent to see these creatures up close. But as always, we’d like to encourage people to put wildlife first, be respectful and keep their distance, should they be so lucky as to have an encounter with one of these amazing creatures.”
Information on becoming an NCI volunteer can be found on their website here, and details on how to make a donation to the charity can be found here.
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