Giants of the deep surface for a bite to eat
TWO giant fin whales -- the world's second largest animals -- were spotted off the south-east coast this weekend feeding in shallow waters.
The fin whales, who can grow to almost 88ft, were viewed by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) on Saturday.
The boat was trawling waters just east of Dungarvan, Co Waterford, when it came across the whales at around 3pm. Fin whales have been observed off our shores since 1999, with sightings peaking around November-December.
The majority of fin whale sightings have traditionally come from Cork, but they have also come from offshore waters along the western seaboard.
Over the past month observers in Waterford have had a flow of sightings, with 75pc of 28 recent spotting's hailing from the county and also the Wexford coast.
Our picture shows one of the fin whales feeding in shallow waters.