A 7m basking shark was tagged off the Blasket Islands, Co Kerry on Sunday 9 August. This was the 100th shark tagged this season, an astonishing success rate. Prior to this year only eight tags had been deployed on basking sharks in Ireland and less than 50 worldwide. The tagging study, funded by a Heritage
Posts Categorized: News
The IWDG stall will be present at the Coastal Zone Portrush for the next 3 days. A great opportunity to find out more about the Groups work in general and swap stories about recent sightings (or lack of). A series of whale and dolphin watches will take place together with all of the other activities
Report 9, 3 August 2009 @ 12:30 There have been no sightings of the pilot whales so far today. IWDG personnel and National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers monitored the coast of Tralee and Brandon Bays from first light yesterday 2 August. Despite good viewing conditions, the pilot whales could not be located. It is
The IWDG has recently expanded it’s photo ID catalogue to include Risso’s dolphins. These are an enigmatic pelagic dolphin species that appear to move inshore during the summer months. Their global population status remains unknown and they are thus a species of high conservational concern. A quick search of our sightings database will reveal a
UPDATE 28 July 2009 There have been no more reports of dead bottlenose dolphins in Tralee Bay. Kerry Co. Co. received a report yesterday (27 July) of a dead dolphin at Banna Strand but it was washed out by the tide before it could be examined. Conor Ryan and Vanessa Klotzer of the Shannon Dolphin
On 21 July a common dolphin Delphinus delphis live stranded at Skerries, Co. Dublin. Johnny Woodlock takes up the story….. “It might have looked like a sharks fin in the sea just off the North strand in Skerries, Co. Dublin on Tues 21st July, but any fears were quickly put aside when onlookers realised that
The weather wasn’t ideal for the 2nd IWDG weekend summer whale watching course on Cape Clear, Co. Cork, but those who stayed with the plan were well very well rewarded with some wonderful encounters of both Harbour porpoiuses and minke whale on the last day. Land based watches on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning both
Report Update 20/07/09 Laura Mandleberg, Sightings Officer of Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust reports that the “West Coast” community group of 5 killer whales photographed off Erris Head, Co. Mayo by the Irish Naval Service on 5th July have returned to the Isle of Skye, Scotland by 13th July. A land-based sighting of them which
The first satellite tags ever to be deployed on basking sharks in Ireland was achieved this week. Two Wildlife Computers MK10 Archival tags were deployed on basking sharks under the shadow of Slea Head, Co Kerry. The tags are attached at the base of the sharks dorsal fin and will record location, water temperature and
IWDG received it’s 2000th stranding record yesterday, of a Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus at Melmore Head, Co. Donegal on the 29 June 2009. The dolphin was initially photographed by John Houston and the record was forwarded to IWDG by Gary O’Connell. There are 62 records for Risso’s dolphins on the IWDG stranding database, accounting for