# Whale sighting



## bullminnow (Mar 2, 2008)

While cobia fishing today, we stumbled across this big guy! I think a few other boats might have seen the same whale. It was spotted just outside the sandbar a tad east of Portifino. When we fished back toward Ft. Pickens we spotted it again. Can anyone tell what type of whale it is?


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## SimpleMan67 (Aug 27, 2009)

I dont know but that is very cool! Dang thing looks like a submarine!


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## rocklobster (Oct 1, 2007)

Looks like a sperm whale. Not uncommon in the gulf, kind of odd to be in such shallow waters....


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## reeltime (Aug 4, 2008)

not a whale expert, but a sperm whale's blowhole would be on the left side of his head, not down his centerline. hard to tell where centerline is in the photo. he also seems more streamline than sperm whale. like i said not an expert, but i wouldnt be betting on sperm whale.


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## bullminnow (Mar 2, 2008)

I have been looking at pictures of different whales on google but can't really identify it. But then again the picture I got isn't the greatest. I also got a video of it but it doesn't help much either because the whale stayed down. I was hoping to get footage of it blowing water out of its blow hole. I was fishing on the Bamboo Vic II which is a 26 ft boat and this thing was longer than the boat. We estimated about 30-35 ft long. The blow hole was located dead center on top. I looked at pictures of a sperm whale and the tail doesn't match up to what we saw today.


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## reeltime (Aug 4, 2008)

maybe a fin whale?


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## bullminnow (Mar 2, 2008)

Reeltime you got it! After looking at pictures of fin whales, I can see that its head, tail, blow hole, and that dorsel fin way in the back all fit this whale we saw today. Thanks a lot! It was a very cool sight. I have seen whale sharks and humpbacks before but not one of these.


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## still flippen (Oct 6, 2007)

There was a whale sighting Wed. afternoon in Sandestin area. I'm guessing this is the same whale making way down the coast. Very cool.


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## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

A buddy and i also saw the whale.......man he was huge!!!!! He was right on the sandbar!!!!


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

A Fin or Finback Whale usually has a whitish sadle behind the head and its hard to tell if its there in the photo. Finbacks are generally uncommon in our area so I would say its either a Sei (pronounced "Say") or a Bryde's (Broo-des) Whale. They are the 2 most common baleen whales in the gulf and the physical characteristics match both but without a better pic its hard to tell which.

Very cool by the way.

We found a dead bottlenose dolphin 8 miles offshore today. Not quite as great of a story.


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## bullminnow (Mar 2, 2008)

This is a picture off the internet. Everything in this picture is the way it looked to us when we saw it. I really wish I had a camera and could have snapped better pics. All pics were taken from a cell phone. These whales were heavily hunted in the twentieth century and are considered an endangered species. They can reach lengths up to 88 ft long! They are the second largest mammal to the Blue Whale.


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## littlezac (Jun 25, 2009)

i saw it swim by the peir today.


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## Pier#r (Oct 2, 2007)

It may be a Fin whale, or a Sperm whale like the one we saw from Navarre & Pcola Bch piers in 2004...

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=524&posts=5

Either way this man would very much like to hear about it (he may be able to provide a positive ID too)

Thomas D. Pitchford 
Wildlife Biologist 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 
Florida Marine Research Institute 
Marine Mammal Pathobiology Lab 
3700 54th Avenue South 
St. Petersburg, FL 33711 
Ph: 727/893-2904 
Fx: 727/893-2907 

*Tom*.*Pitchford*@MyFWC.com

Please report the sighting by calling the following numbers with an accurate location and description of the sighting: 

In Florida, call *FWC?s Wildlife Alert Toll-Free Number* 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922) Cellular phone customers - *FWC or #FWC


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## Inn Deep (Oct 3, 2007)

We went surf fishing that way yesterday. As soon as my brother looked out into the water he saw a whale. It didn't come up again so I thought Yea Right. I guess I believe him now! Cool photos!


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## jw1973 (Feb 8, 2009)

I posted on the inshore reports that we spotted a whale in the bay on Saturday. I didn't actually see it but 3 of my crew did. They reported that it looked like a 30 ft submarine. I mentioned this report to them and showed them the pictures last night and they all said this was what they saw. We were just East of where the Lexington used to dock.


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## Max_Power (May 11, 2009)

Bryde's whale.



NOAA and some of the local wildlife rescue organization have been keeping tabs on it.


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## kingling (Apr 10, 2008)

we saw it also we were about a mile off the beach right in line with portinfino.....something ill never forget


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## Nat (Oct 10, 2007)

Is this an April fools joke?


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## gator7_5 (Oct 4, 2007)

A buddy of mine called me Sunday and said he saw a huge whale in the bay just inside the pass. I told him he was F.O.S.. . Guess he wasn't.


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

I saw the whale Sunday on my way back from Pensacola to Panama City, and my buddy thought i was crazy . It came up once and blew one big plume of water. I thought to myself i was crazy too as it did not come up again.



Guess i was right .....seems weird to be that close into the beach by its self so shallow.


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## TURTLE (May 22, 2008)

> *bullminnow (4/1/2010)*While cobia fishing today, we stumbled across this big guy! I think a few other boats might have seen the same whale. It was spotted just outside the sandbar a tad east of Portifino. When we fished back toward Ft. Pickens we spotted it again. Can anyone tell what type of whale it is?


*NESSY!!!!!:letsdrink*


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## Shop Keeper (Oct 17, 2009)

Too cool, just goes to prove that I need to get out of the shop more often!


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## jw1973 (Feb 8, 2009)

Steve, this is Jodie, we saw the whale on our way back from Ft Pickens after we left your shop on Saturday. I posted about it on the inshore reports also. 



I'm glad to see so many other people saw this thing. Everyone I talked to about it asked where I got my weed.


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## sashay33 (Jun 15, 2009)

It's a Brydes whale


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## bullminnow (Mar 2, 2008)

Fin whales are rorquals, members of the family Balaenopteridae family, which also includes the humpback whale, the blue whale, the Bryde's whale, the sei whale and the minke whale. Fin whales are often confused with Bryde's whales.


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## Team Bloody Waters (Feb 24, 2009)

Looks likea girl I woke up next to after Iwent out drinkingalone, glad shes on her way home!:letsdrink

Doesn't look like any I've seen in Cali.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

If you look real close you can see the white saddle not far back from the head. Its hard to see because of the whitewater on its back but it is there. That and its long, slender build and I would retract what I said earlier. I think it is a Fin Whale.


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## Justin (May 6, 2009)

I'm not really that familiar with whales, but if I were to come across one while cobe fishing I would think that they would hang around it.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

They might hang around some whales but most whales are very active and pretty fast cruisers which wouldn't make them very good travel buddies. Whale sharks, Sunfish, turtles, etc are much slower on average.

We tried swimming with a Bryde's Whale at the nipple a few years ago and it was impossible to get close to. I don't think it was scared of the boat but it just darted around and each time it kicked its tail a few times it was 100 yards away. We were up on the bow with masks on while Sam drove the boat chasing the whale around trying to intercept its seem-to-be course. We probably looked like idiots.


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