Rare Whale Sighting

True's Beaked Whale, the Azores (credit: Roland Edler PeerJ)

One of the world's rarest and least known whales, True's beaked whale, has been filmed for the first time. Researches diving near the Azores and Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa spotted the elusive marine mammals. They are extremely hard to track as the whales dive deep and surface for air less frequently than other whales. According to their research report, True's beaked whale is restricted to temperate waters in the Atlantic with a few other records from the southern hemisphere.

It is always exciting to view whales up close or learn of new species being discovered. The filming of this species in coastal waters near these accessible island archipelagos offer unique opportunities to study this little known and rare species. WHB

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