You wouldn’t want to go for a swim with this fella.
Irish photographer Richard Creagh has captured some wonderful photos of an extremely rare kind of killer whale more often seen off the coast of Scotland.
Creagh notes in a Facebook post that John Coe (the name of the whale) is not quite a stranger to the Blasket Islands sightings of such creatures are nevertheless uncommon in Ireland.
With that in mind, Creagh is understandably very pleased and proud that he was able to get a few shots of the whale at play.
Creagh also posted handy bits of information alongside pictures of John Coe.
“The distinctive eye patch and dorsal fin, with the blow hole visible too. The blowhole is effectively the animal’s nose, through which it breathes. Cetaceans can’t breath through their mouths like other mammals can.”
“The deep notch near the base of the dorsal fin and a few other small bumps higher up (hardly visible here) confirm this animal as John Coe. Unique marks on whales and dolphins allow them to be identified and tracked using photographs.”
“The distinctive eye patch and dorsal fin, with the blow hole visible too. The blowhole is effectively the animal’s nose, through which it breathes. Cetaceans can’t breath through their mouths like other mammals can.”
Creagh’s message in full, and more of his work, can be seen on his Facebook page.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
