The incredibly rare sight of a humpback whale was spotted off the coast of Phuket this morning. Charoen Chanaphon, a tour boat operator, reported the unusual encounter. Sailing from Phuket towards Phi Phi island around 11.45am today, he noticed the majestic mammal. The tour boat operator did not confirm if any tourists were present on the boat during the whale’s sighting.

 

Charoen detailed that the whale seemed to be navigating from southeast to southwest. Shortly after its sighting, the humpback commenced its dive, with its tail rising above the sea surface before it embarked on its descent. Though initially uncertain about the creature’s exact species, Charoen later confirmed it was a humpback whale, based on the assessment of his captured photograph by the rare marine animal team from the National Science and Technology Development Agency.

 

The Phuket Info Center revealed that humpback sightings are highly infrequent in the waters around Phuket. To put this into context, this was only the second official recorded sighting of this species in these waters, reported The Phuket News.

 

By Mitch Connor

Caption: Picture courtesy of Charoen Chanaphon via Phuket Info Centre

 

Full Story: https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/humpback-whale-sighting-in-phuket-waters-a-rare-marine-marvel

 

-- Thaiger 2023-08-24

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

Global Warming,  probably be seeing more often. Oh, could be result of El Nina.

Nice ...

... probably a Russian Humpback

 

GW ... wouldn't that be the opposite, and they'd avoid the warmer waters.

Sneaking in from Australia