Very large minke whale found dead

The large dead minke whale being lifted out of the water in Vueltas harbour (Image: Speedy Adventure)

A very large minke whale was discovered floating dead in the Atlantic just off La Gomera not far from the harbour of Valle Gran Rey on Saturday. The carcass was towed into the port and lifted out of the water with the crane on the pier and onto a council truck for disposal. The minke whale showed no visible signs of injuries and further examinations and tests were to be carried out to determine the cause of death. However experts were surprised at the unusually large size of the marine mammal. This male dead minke whale measured about eight metres in length (25 ft), which is a metre longer than normally encountered. The waters just off the south coast of La Gomera are a popular spot for whale watching and more than 30 species of marine mammals have been sighted there.

Almost too large for the council lorry (Image: RTVC)

Orca sighting off La Gomera

La Gomera, and especially an area in the Atlantic just off the southern coastline, forms part of one of best whale watching destinations in the world, where you can experience the sight of over 20 species of whales and dolphins in their natural habitat.

Throughout the whole year there is a 90 percent chance of observing a variety of marine mammals and also turtles and flying fish. This is probably because the biodiversity here is extremely rich and especially attractive to cetaceans.

Some of these mammals live here on a permanent basis and among them are many species of dolphins such as bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins or common dolphins. Furthermore there is a uniquely large population of pilot whales living here permanently.

Other marine mammals congregate here temporarily while passing through his part of the Atlantic. A couple of days ago Jose Miguel, the skipper of both 'Tina' and 'Speedy' whale watching boats operating out of Valle Gran Rey's Vueltas harbour, spotted and filmed a small group of orcas in the area and posted the above video on his Facebook page. Orcas are rarely seen in the area, but have been encountered near La Gomera before.

Young dolphin rescued

Dolphin rescue this morning. Photo:gomeranoticias.com

A young dolphin of about 150lbs weight appeared to be lost in very shallow water in the sandy bay of San Sebastian de La Gomera early this morning. Officers of the environmental police unit  SEPRONA transported the animal with the help of some locals to the yacht harbour from where the dolphin was transferred to a boat which then bvrought it to deep water off the coast to be released there. The dolphin appeared to be be completely healthy and uninjured and there is no explanation why it ended up so close to shore. The waters off La Gomera's south coast are renowned for their abundance of cetaceans and more than 20 different species of dolphins and whales are regularly spotted there. On La Gomera only environmentally sensitive and respectful whale watching is tolerated.