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Click on the pictures for more information |
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| home : species guide : questions : sightings : news : links : gallery | ||||
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Click on the pictures for more information |
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| These are the three most common cetaceans in the Moray Firth are Bottlenose Dolphins, Harbour Porpoises and Minke Whales. |
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| BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus)____________________________ |
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With the Dolphin, nearly all dorsal fins are unique in size, shape and colour. They are a large, backward curving, sickle shaped fin, which can be easily seen as the dolphins surface to breathe. When the seen at close quarters, tooth rake marks, nicks and colour shading differences can be observed. |
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| HARBOUR PORPOISE (Phocoena phocoena)_____________________________ | |||||||||||
| The Harbour Porpoise is smaller than the Dolphin and is much more difficult to identify, but has a distinctive "forward roll" action when it dives under the surface and has a small triangular fin. This small, blunt dorsal fin makes it difficult to notice any discernible markings |
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| MINKE WHALE (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)___________________________ | |||||||||||
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The Minke is noticeable for its small dorsal fin which is positioned two-thirds of the way along its back and its slow arch as it dives. If you get really close, you can see the white coloured bands on the pectoral fins | ||||||||||
