Ireland's waters are a major destination for dozens of species of whales and dolphins.
Mr Whooley cited last weekend as typical in terms of sightings, with, in Northern Irish waters alone, bottlenose dolphins seen off the coast of Donaghadee, basking sharks off the Skerries near Portrush and a Minke whale in the Fairhead area.Fin whales, than can grow to over 20 metres in length, are also found in Irish waters
"We always posed the question, was Ireland just a roadside café, a quick stop on a journey somewhere else or was Ireland actually the destination? "The patch of water we're in is a spectacular place for cetaceans, we haven't done a blank trip for years and years, we always find some.""Three or four times we've had humpbacks come up and visit the boats for more than an hour and just show off," he said.Even more common than whales in Irish waters are dolphins and porpoises.
"But they weren't playing with another dolphin, they were attacking and killing a harbour porpoise and this is something that bottlenose dolphins do quite routinely," Mr Whooley said. "They're big mammals and like lots of big mammals they kill lots of things and they're not even going to eat it."The dolphins' seemingly playful behaviour took a more sinister turn when they were seen to attack a smaller harbour porpoise
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