Whaling off Hook Head
Colin Stafford Johnson heads offshore with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, from Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, to try to find the second largest animal on earth, the fin whale. No less than 24 species of whales and dolphins have been recorded in Irish waters, ranging in size from the harbour porpoise to the blue whale, the largest animal that has ever lived. Will they manage to track down what is known as the greyhound of whale species, the fin whale?
Locations: Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, Hook Head.
Contributors: Padraig Whooley, Andrew Malcolm, Paddy Roche, IWDG, and RTE’s Philip Bromwell.
Picture Captions: A fin whale surfacing, with Hook Head Lighthouse in background.
‘Blow!’ - Padraig Whooley, IWDG, spots a fin whale