Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The Saudi National Center for Wildlife (NCW) announced that it had spotted a rare whale in the Red Sea, 60 kilometers from the shores of Qunfudah.

The huge mammal, which is known as the Bryde’s whale or Balaeanoptera edeni brydei, was spotted when it appeared on the water surface for breathing.

The NCW published a picture of the whale on its official social media accounts.

Bryde’s whales, which are considered as one of the greatest whales, are found in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

The NCW noted that these whales are very rare in the Red Sea. It documented five whales during a Red Sea exploration trip conducted in February 2022.

The Saudi Press Agency reported that the NCW launched the exploration trip with the participation of the global research vessel OceanExplorer and the national research vessel Al-Azizi of King Abdulaziz University and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

The trip, in which 126 researchers took part, included scientific research activities to study marine life in the Red Sea. It also conducted the first comprehensive survey of previously unstudied areas starting from Afifi in the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba in the north, in addition to producing a documentary and informational materials on these areas.