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Harbour porpoise. Image: Charlie Phillips/WDC

Speaking up for the little guys – WDC in action

Whales and dolphins face so many dangers. These intelligent beings are crucial for the wellbeing...
Humpback whale fluke in Alaska.

An unforgettable first encounter – observing the whales we work to protect

I have kept a dark secret since joining WDC back in June 2021. Despite my...

WDC in Japan – Part 2: Digital dolphins

Welcome to the second chapter of my incredible journey to build alliances in Japan. As...
David Capello and Duchess

A former UK dolphin trainer reflects

It's been 30 years since the last dolphin show closed its doors in the UK....

2017 Sightings in Scotland

Update by Emma Steel

It has been an extremely exciting couple of weeks for cetacean sightings here in Scotland, with a few less common species popping in to say hello, and a total of 12 cetacean species recorded in 2017 so far! The Shorewatch team spent a week up in Caithness and had some fantastic sightings of Orca. These individuals are members of the Icelandic orca population, who travel down to Scotland in May every year. This year they were spotted as far south as Peterhead! 

It has been minke madness across the coastline, with sightings in the Moray Firth of whales breaching, and on a few occasions lots of these baleen whales were spotted from Tiumpan head in the Outer Hebrides. One of our volunteers, Janet Marshall, also sighted a pygmy sperm whale from Tiumpan, a very rare and exciting sighting for her! Not a lot is known about this species, and most information has come from strandings data.