A whale came in very close to the shore off the beach in front of Urbanización La Chucha, in Carchuna-Calahonda, yesterday, which was captured on video by a group of surfers.

The type of whale was a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) which was first sighted around 12.30h and it was so close to the beach that the surfers thought it might end up stranded in the surf but it was simply feeding, hence its tail appearing out of the water (breaching).

Examinging the footage, Aula del Mar confirmed that it was a ballena yubarta (humback whale) which is not often spotted in this area of the Med. The first time that there was a sighting was in the Mar de Alborán in 2006. The Mar de Alborán are the waters surrounding a small island belonging to Spain between Motril and the North African coast.

Adults range in length from 14–17m and weigh up to 40 tonnes . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and is well known for its distinctive surface behaviour, making it very popular amongst whale watchers.

Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish and use bubbles, acting almost like a net, to catch their prey.

(News: Carchuna, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Whale Sighting, Humpback Whale, Surfers, Feeding

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