Fin whale near Rovanjska bay

07.01.2018

During the afternoon of 6 Jan 2017 fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) has been observed in the Rovanjska bay near Jasenice. The animal was swiming slowly, surfacing aproximatelly every ten minutes. The actual size can not be established based on the recording. According to the report, whale was swiming towards Starigrad Paklenica.

Fin whale, although second largest animal on Earth, usually can orientate well in shallow and enclosed bays and channels hence no stranding of healthy animals have been recorded in the Adriatic Sea. When found in the relatively closed areas, animals need up to several days to get to know the area, but in general they always find their way out and continue their journey.

The main problem whales are facing in such situations is disturbance. More or less benevolent individuals can frighten the animal by approaching with their vessels and cause it to strand. Therefore, approaching in such situations should be minimal and you should keep your distance.

Also, you should never try to “rescue” the animal by chasing it or by making noise in order to force the animals to swim in the “right” direction. In such situations stressed and frightened animal can not control the surrounding as it is trying to run away and in such cases it can easily strand or get injured. The most efficient help you can provide is to leave the animal in peace and report your observations.

Therefore, as in previous cases when fin whales have been observed in the Velebit channel and in bays and channels of Croatian Adriatic, we kindly ask you to report your sightings so we can monitor their movements. You can send us your reports by emailom on info@blue-worl.org, by phone on +385 51 604666 or through our FB pages facebook.com/BlueWorldInstitute

You can also use this sightings report form.