Sperm whale spotted off Israeli coast in rare sighting - watch

Steps are being taken to ensure that the whale was not harmed by the oil spill that brought tar to Israel's shores.

FEBRUARY 28, 2021 07:15

gray whale 311 (photo credit: Aviad Scheinin/IMMRAC) — gray whale 311

(photo credit: Aviad Scheinin/IMMRAC)

In a rare sighting, a sperm whale was seen approximately half of a kilometer off the shore of Nahariya, marine conservation non-profit Delphis reported Friday. The whale was seen poking his blowhole out of the water for a calculated breath.

The six-meter-long sperm whale appears to be young, as the average adult sperm whale reaches the average size of 15.8 meters. They come up to the surface to breathe only once every 90 minutes or so, making the sperm whale one of the sea mammals with the longest dives and making its sighting along the surface even more rare.

Despite the fact that sperm whales are common around the world, including in the Mediterranean Sea, it is rare to see a sperm-whale off the coast of Israel, the organization said.

The whale is being tracked, and steps are being taken to ensure that it was not harmed by the oil spill that brought tar to Israel's shores recently, N12 reported.

In footage released by Delphis, the whale can be seen near the surface of the water along Israel's shore, poking over the water and taking a breath of fresh air.

On February 17, hundreds of tons of tar were pushed ashore due to inclement weather, coating approximately 160 km. out of the 190 km. of Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Sea turtles, marine birds and endangered marine mammals were some of the wildlife that have perished or have been affected by the spill.

Delphis works to promote awareness of Israel's marine environment and marine mammals.

Max Kaplan-Zantopp contributed to this report.