A whale rescue team is monitoring a humpback in the Forth after it sustained injuries.
The animal has been delighting whale watchers off the Fife coast since it arrived in the estuary at the start of December.
But recent images captured by a local wildlife enthusiast reveal it has been wounded.
Paul Smith is the local coordinator for British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).
He describes the whale’s injuries as “superficial cuts and grazes”.
And he says the animal is otherwise looking healthy.
Whale appears to have been caught in fishing gear
Paul says the injuries are likely to have been caused by the whale becoming entangled in fishing gear.
In 2019, a humpback in the Forth suffered a long and unpleasant death after becoming entangled.
At the time, the BDMLR were unable to get close enough to the 30ft long male to untangle it.
But there is good news for the humpback currently seen off Fife.
If it was entangled, it has managed to free itself.
Paul says: “At this stage there’s no entangled gear on the whale, so there’s no cause for us to launch a rescue with the disentanglement team.
“We are monitoring the situation, as we have been since it arrived.”
Could ‘show off’ cetacean attract more whales to the Forth?
The humpback being monitored by the BDMLR has been in the Forth since the start of December.
Paul says the whale appears to be behaving normally and is feeding well.
And it is likely to hang around as long as it has access to food.
A humpback’s diet consists of shrimp-like creatures called krill and small fish.
However, citizen scientists who have been observing the whale have noticed a change in its behaviour.
It appears to be breaching a lot more than previously.
“Breaching can be interpreted as many things,” says Paul.
“It can be used to get rid of parasites, for communication, or just showing off.
“There’s only one person who knows why it’s doing it, and it’s the whale.”
One theory is the whale is communicating to other humpbacks.
“I would say, the amount of times it’s breaching, I would think there are maybe other animals in the area.
“In the past, when a whale’s been breaching, within a week there have been other whales in the area.”
Joy for whale watchers as visitors to the Forth entertain the crowds
Among those who have been taking a keen interest in the whale is amateur wildlife enthusiast Ronnie Mackie of Kinghorn.
Ronnie, 68, captured the photographs of the Forth humpback’s injuries.
He said it was a positive sign that it appears to have escaped from being entangled.
“It’s been here for a month and has been pulling in people from all over the UK.
“It’s been spectacular.”
Having lived by the Fife coast all his life, Ronnie says whale sightings have become more common.
And the variety of cetaceans in the Forth appears to be increasing.
The estuary recently hosted a 37ft long sei whale, which sadly became stranded.
It was only the second time in 30 years the species had stranded in Scotland.
Ronnie says: “I’ve lived in Kinghorn, by the sea, and been out in boats since I was five years old. We’re talking 60-odd years.
“There were certainly very occasional visits previously. But in the last five years we’ve had regular visits.
“There seems to be an increase in the food available to whales.
“We’re not getting fleeting visits, so it’s easier for us to spot them.”
