#MarineWildlife - The mystery of where Ireland's humpback whales to go give birth remains – but two whales have been tracked between the Irish coast and feeding grounds in the Arctic for the first time.
That's the big news from a new research paper in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, a collaborative effort between the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and marine science colleagues in the United States, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands.
According to co-author Dr Conor Ryan, the study reports on a comparison of the 28 humpback whales that have been photo IDed in Irish waters with a catalogue of over 8,000 such whales throughout the North Atlantic.
Ireland's "main stomping ground for humpbacks" was also examined in the paper, with a strong seasonal trend showing the whales appearing off the Kerry coast each summer – as tourists on the Wild Atlantic Way are becoming well aware.
IrishCentral reports on the latest BBC film shoot to capture the majestic marine mammals in their natural environment, before they move on to West Cork in autumn and further east to Waterford and Wexford as winter progresses – matching the movements of spawning sprat and herring shoals.
The IWDG website has much more on the story HERE.