Rare whale spotted off Douglas coast
REEF WATCH
A rare Omura’s whale was spotted off the coast of Port Douglas by the crew and guests aboard dive boat Silversonic on Tuesday.
The first confirmed sighting on the Great Barrier Reef of this whale type - which grows to about 12m and is believed to live primarily in tropical waters - was in 2016.
Omura’s whales were only formally identified as a species in 2003.
Guests and crew aboard the Port Douglas-based catamaran saw the whale near Undine Cay at 9:20am while heading for Agincourt Reef.
Skipper Shane Down stopped the boat and identified the rare mammal as the passengers caught a glimpse of it.
“I saw the whale after seeing the blow and there was a commotion on the surface,” Down said.
Following that sighting, they soon saw a “big white patch” underwater.
“I believe it was the pleats of the throat stretched out after taking a big gulp of food.
“It also turned around and headed back to the southeast then back around to the west.”
He said the whale may have been hunting for more food.
Down has been recording rare sightings of the whales for years, and said Omura’s were usually seen between November and February.
Quicksilver Group whale and dolphin expert Phil Coulthard said it was unusual to see whales during the Port Douglas summer as we associate humpbacks and minke whales with the cooler months.
“It’s certainly a treat to see an Omura’s whale at this time of year,” he said.
One of the smallest members of the rorqual group, little is known about Omura’s whales.
When first identified as a species, they were thought to be a smaller “dwarf” form of Bryde’s whale, or possibly a dwarf fin whale, due to their similar patterns of markings.
But they may, in fact, be more closely related to their much larger relative the blue whale.
Omura’s whales are found in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.
The name is in recognition of Japanese whale scientist, or cetologist, Hideo Omura.
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