Hants scientist snaps 'first Blue Whale in UK waters'

A group of scientists on a one month long expedition cruise have had what has been called an 'incredibly rare sighting' of a Blue Whale in UK waters. Blue Whales are the largest animals on earth.

One of the scientists on board the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Cook managed to take photographs of the mammal before it disappeared. Professor Russell Wynn of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton captured the sighting on film while on the daily watch.

The whale was twice as long as a double decker bus. It was spotted on 24th August, about 400km southwest of Cornwall, over a deep sea canyon.

The Blue Whale was hunted to near extinction in the North East Atlantic in the early twentieth century, but this sighting teamed with others further south in the area, may mean the population is slowly starting to recover.

During the research expedition, which was funded by the European Research Council and the UK Marine Environmental Mapping Programme, Professor Wynn also recorded more than 20 Fin Whales. They were also spotted in the deep waters of the canyon on the northern margin of the Bay of Biscay - an area in English waters. Fin Whales are the second largest animal on earth.

The expedition on the RSS James Cook ends on 12th September 2015.