Rare whale spotted this time in Fethiye
The whale seen yesterday in the Samandağ district of Hatay was also observed today in the Fethiye district of Muğla. The whale, identified as a sperm whale, disappeared after a while.
On May 27, while sailing by boat off the coast of Göcek Neighborhood, yacht captain Oğuzhan Çoban and his friends noticed movement on the sea surface.
Realizing there was a whale in the water, Çoban recorded the whale they followed for a while with his phone camera.
The whale, seen on the water surface for a while, later disappeared from sight.
"A rare whale never seen here before"
Oğuzhan Çoban, 27, living in Dalaman, said they encountered the whale while sailing by boat.
Çoban, who said he has been a seaman for 10 years and a captain for 4 years, stated, "My father is also a captain. We experienced such an interesting event during our Marmaris trip. A rare whale, never seen here before, appeared to us. At first, we thought it was a log or wood but as we got closer, we realized it was diving and surfacing. We approached it, recorded video without disturbing it. It headed towards Sarigerme, and we continued on our way. There were two of us on the boat."
Çoban expressed their guess that the whale was seen in the region due to climate change.
Stating the whale stayed on the water surface for about 10-15 minutes, Çoban said, "It continued toward the shore very comfortably without diving. We enjoyed watching it by keeping our boat motor at a constant speed. It did not approach us. The sea is their living space anyway. It was a nice memory for us."
"The known sperm whale species of the Mediterranean"
Prof. Dr. Halit Filiz, a faculty member of the Department of Basic Fisheries Sciences at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Faculty of Fisheries, said this was the sperm whale known and observed in the Mediterranean, expressing hope for an increase in their numbers.
Filiz said, "Seeing the whale off the Muğla coast means the seas are healthy. There is nothing to worry about in this."
