{"id":631847,"date":"2026-09-21T22:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/631847\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T22:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:44:19","slug":"in-the-1950s-whaling-ended-around-these-remote-scottish-islands-decades-later-up-to-30-minke-whales-were-spotted-in-one-great-gathering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/631847\/","title":{"rendered":"In the 1950s, whaling ended around these remote Scottish islands. Decades later, up to 30 minke whales were spotted in one great gathering"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a wildlife expedition visited former whaling grounds in the Scottish Hebrides, they spotted what may be one of the largest\u00a0minke whale<\/a>\u00a0gatherings on record in the region. Experts estimate they saw up to 30 individuals feeding off the Isle of Eigg, Scotland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The sighting happened in late August at the end of a 10-night whale research expedition. Guests joined\u00a0Dr Conor Ryan<\/a>, a marine scientist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)\u00a0and Hebrides Cruises guide Dan Wagstaff to explore the waters off the Hebridean archipelago of\u00a0St Kilda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now a dual\u00a0UNESCO World Heritage<\/a>\u00a0site (recognised for both its cultural significance and natural wonders), the archipelago is famed for its rugged landscapes and abundant wildlife.<\/p>\n

During breeding season, nearly one million seabirds call St Kilda home \u2013 including\u00a0puffins<\/a>, fulmars and gannets<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and several species of whales and dolphins can be spotted in its waters. But whalers used to hunt here in the 20th\u00a0century.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although whaling here ended in\u00a0the 1950s<\/a>, seeing a gathering of this many minkes is rare even today. \u201cThe feeding behaviour itself is typical, but the densities were exceptional,\u201d says Ryan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Footage shows a minke whale lunge feeding in the Scottish Hebrides. Credit: James Fairbairns, Skipper – Hebrides Cruises<\/p>\n

They\u2019re here for the food, Ryan explains. \u201cI describe baleen whale feeding like the \u2018supermarket effect\u2019: lots of food in one place gathers lots of individuals,\u201d he says. Often it doesn\u2019t last long with the whales \u201conly together for a short period while the food is abundant.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the feast, they saw groups of seven and eight whales with more spotted in the distance. They think there were between 20 and 30 minke whales feeding in a four-mile radius off Eigg, an island south-east of St Kilda, which could be one of the largest gatherings recorded around the Hebrides.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"MinkeMinke whale off the Isle of Rum, Scotland. Credit: Dr Conor Ryan<\/p>\n

\u201cWe witnessed the rapid formation and breakdown of these feeding frenzies when we were on the water that day, with the minke whales dramatically lunge-feeding on shoals of fish alongside shearwaters and auks<\/a>,\u201d says Ryan. \u00a0<\/p>\n

During the expedition, they also saw a basking shark<\/a>, bottlenose dolphins<\/a> and grey seals as well as a mother\u00a0fin whale<\/a> and her calf. During whaling times, this species was one of the great whales that were hunted in these waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo finish this year\u2019s\u00a0expedition<\/a>\u00a0surrounded by so many feeding minke whales off Eigg was an extraordinary sight,\u201d says\u00a0Emma Fairbairns<\/a>, director and shore manager of the family-run wildlife tour company Hebrides Cruises, adding that the exceptional encounter is \u201csomething everyone on board will remember.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

More wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n

Top image: minke whale lunge feeding in the Scottish Hebrides. Credit: James Fairbairns, Skipper – Hebrides Cruises<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a wildlife expedition visited former whaling grounds in the Scottish Hebrides, they spotted what may be one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,82,263],"class_list":["post-631847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}