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Whale, Dolphin & Seal Watching in West Cork |
Whale watching is becoming more and more popular in West Cork as seas off Baltimore are home to a fascinating variety of marine animals and birds Whale watching can bring you face to face with some of the largest animals on earth. Of course, there is no guarantee of what you will see, but sightings off Baltimore include minke whale, pilot whale, fin whale second in size only to the blue whale, humpback whale and killer whale, that return along with several species of dolphins to feed in West Cork's rich waters. Minke whales are the first to return in spring and feed here until December. During the summer they are joined by the fin whales, returning from their winter breeding grounds. Weighing in at seventy tons, they are the world’s second largest animal. Most numerous are the dolphins common, bottlenose and Rissos dolphin whose tall fin sometimes leads to confusion with the killer whale and the common porpoise. Common dolphin and the larger bottlenose dolphin are attracted by moving boats and often give spectacular leaping displays right alongside.
Though whale watching tends to be best in fine weather, it is by no means exclusively a summer activity. A good time to see fin whales is in winter when they come inshore after sprats, sometimes in considerable numbers.
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