Wildlife

19 August 2006

Ruth has had another very successful year for wildlife lovers. As well as porpoise and common dolphin being spotted regularly, a long-finned pilot whale was seen close to the ship in Mounts Bay. These whales live for about 50 or 60 years and feed on squid as a preference, but will eat any shoaling fish such as mackerel, herring, and whiting. Several Atlantic Grey Seals were seen, particularly off the Pembrokeshire Coast and East Coast of Ireland. The seal in the photo is a male (bull) and surfaced near Portavogie, Northern Ireland. Grey seals have been recorded at 70 metres below the surface and feed mostly on small fish.