Dubai: The highly-endangered Arabian Sea humpback whale was confirmed to have been spotted for the first time in UAE waters.
Marine biologist Robert Baldwin, who has studied the whales and dolphins of the UAE and Oman for many years, explained that a female humpback whale and a small calf were recently sighted only one kilometre off Dubai’s coast.
"Information we are gathering from these whales is providing us with invaluable knowledge about the isolation of species in a remote corner of our oceans and giving us scientific signposts towards their future survival in a rapidly developing region," said Baldwin, quoted by the state news agency Wam.
The humpback whales of the Arabian Sea is believed to be one of the most endangered and isolated whales on the planet.
Whales are rarely recorded inside the Arabian Gulf, according to Baldwin, and mainly occur when they are washed up dead on the shore.
Most of these, however, are believed to be Bryde’s whales, a related species.
Several species of whales, including humpbacks, are also rarely seen off the UAE’s East Coast.
What is the humpback whale?
The Arabian Sea humpback whale can measure up to 16 metres long and is distinguished from other whales by, among other traits, its lifestyle and song.
Unlike other whales, it does not migrate from warm tropical seas to polar feeding grounds, choosing to live year round in the warm yet rich waters off the Arabian peninsula.
It is a solitary whale, rarely moving in groups, and has not been studied extensively as yet.
