THE LITTLEST CETACEANS IN THE BAY
Since Skjálfandi Bay is so well known for its big whales, such as the humpback whale and even the blue whale in the spring, sometimes the smallest of the cetaceans here can be over looked. These are the harbour porpoises. Unlike the big whales, these sweet looking, small, toothed whales live in the cold Icelandic waters all year round.
At only 1.5-2 meters in length, sometimes the harbour porpoises can be difficult to spot and easily missed. Often times, they also tend to be shy around the boats, so having a really nice sighting is rare and exciting. Particularly on days when there is a lot of feeding activity in the bay, one can get lucky enough to see the harbour porpoises up close to the boat, using their incredible echolocation skills to hunt their prey. When we do have a sighting, it is common to see them swimming at high speeds, a swimming known as "porpoising", named after them.
Below are a few pictures from a really nice sighting of the littlest cetaceans in our bay!
-Charla
Researcher/Guide
Photos: Charla Basran
