What's his name? Celebrity whale with an identity crisis
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THE MAGNIFICENT humpback who has been delighting spectators on both the headlands and at sea around Hook Head is currently experiencing an identity crisis.
The whale, who is fast becoming a local celebrity, is being christened all sorts of different names by locals and whale watchers alike.
Last week he was aptly named both 'Hook' and 'Bingo' by locals. However, this week sightseers are affectionately calling him 'Hooky'.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), revelling after the whale bonanza off Hook Head last weekend, has codenamed the humpback a more official #HBIRL11
'He is a celebrity in these waters,' said skipper Martin Colfer. 'Hooky is our pet name on him anyway.'
Meanwhile, according to Pádraig Whooley, sightings coordinator with the IWDG, a photo ID fluke shot for the Humpback ID catalogue has confirmed that the whale is indeed a previously unseen humpback whale in the North Atlantic.
'Our colleagues from College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbour, Maine, USA, have run the whale's fluke shots through the North Atlantic catalogue and confirm that this is indeed a previously unseen humpback whale in the North Atlantic and so it will be allocated a unique reference, and in effect increase the North Atlantic humpback whale population by one,' said Pádraig.
'This is another important contribution by Irish whale researchers from IWDG to our understanding of humpback whales and their ecology in these waters.'
For further information on 'Bingo', 'Hook', 'Hooky' or #HBIRL11 visit iwdg.ie for all the latest updates, information and sightings on the humpback and fin whale movements.
