Unusual encounter with a blue whale on the Isla de la Plata
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Loading... - Anton Maric
- 14 Feb 2023
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A huge blue whale appeared on January 22, 2023 around the Isla de la Plata, just 50 kilometers from the coast, in Manabí.
“It was impressive. We saw a very high breath, it was not the same as that of the humpback whales and it circled around the boat as if playing”, describes the scientist Cristina Castro, who has been researching whales in Puerto López for 20 years.
It was a specimen of a juvenile blue whale, a species that is in danger of extinction. These whales are the largest animals in the world, with a size that can reach up to 30 meters.
“They are not coastal, they are oceanic. That is why it is rare to have seen it on the Isla de la Plata”, adds Castro. Blue whales have been seen in the Galapagos, but there are no records of sightings near the mainland.
The huge mammal surprised the scientific team on a research tour carried out on a marine platform behind the Isla de la Plata, an area that has not been explored.
“This species is friendly, it passed under the boat, it took out its fin, its tail, it was playing,” says the scientist, who has identified more than 4,000 humpback whales, but it is the first time she has had an encounter with a blue whale. Read More…
