I'm pretty sure it's rolled away from the camera. Look at the pectoral fins - the one further from the camera is also longer, suggesting we are looking more at the belly of the whale than its profile
If there's a dorsal hidden somewhere that I'm just not seeing then it could be a multitude of different whales(likely byrdes or fin whale).
However, if there's no dorsal(more of a hump) I'd pretty confidently guess blue whale/pygmy blue. Thats insane to see on a dive. Congratulations.
Edit: friend who instructs on koh tao said it was a byrdes whale if this happened about 2 days ago.
Oh shitttt. Dude I've been looking at it over and over and I just can't tell. Not enough dorsal for a byrdes. Pecs are too close to the head for a blue(I think). But I'm far from a whale expert.
Ahah think I have been doing the same of trying to pause the video in a load of different places. I did send the photos and video to a group from UoSydney who are studying them asking for ID 😂
Yeah I'm gonna ask a few marine bio friends tomorrow. I looped the video a couple times and I legitimately can't tell what that thing is. The pec position with an apparent lack of dorsal fin is throwing me off bad.
It honestly might be some oddball hybrid whale.
Marine biologist friend said "it's a whale." Lmao she is apparently not in the whale field either.
I'm obsessive over shit like this and I've looked at 20 different species of whales, watched YouTube, and I can't figure it out for sure.
The way it moves, the location(not to mention the sighting just 2 days ago), the shape etc. It HAS to be a byrdes whale. I think either 1. Just none of your videos or photos had the right angle for the dorsal 2. It lost its dorsal in an accident/it's drooping to the side(I've done a little research on this and the common cause in wild whales is Collagen breakdown, which goes hand in hand with water that is warmer/too warm like the hot tub water that is Koh Tao) 3. It was born deformed and without a dorsal.
At this point I'd be willing to throw a crispy 100 dollar bill down on Byrdes whale with erectile dysfunction in their dorsal due to Collagen breakdown.
Yeah everything does point to a brydes whale, location, number in Thailand, size etc. I haven’t seen enough (read any) other Bryde whales and so am unsure what is the range of size of their dorsal fins, nor chances of them dropping over. Looking for someone who has seen a few and ideally seen them under water to confirm.
If the UoSydney marine biologist I emailed gets back and confirms will let you know !
Why 100%? I'm curious...
It's in the gulf of Thailand. It'd be pretty rare to see a blue whale tuck in there.
Based off location and shape I'd guess a Byrdes whale..
But again you seem confident so please tell me.
Edit: I think you right. It'd be hard to see the rear dorsal in the photos but it doesn't look like it has one. Probably a blue whale/pygmy blue.
Edit edit: final answer... I think byrdes whale but the dorsal fin is tricky for some reason.
You make it sound like a blue whale would have a hard time fitting in the gulf. That’s silly.
I’m not saying it’s a blue whale but to dismiss it because of the gulfs size is silly
I guess it could have been interpreted that way. Sounded good in my head I guess.
I was referring to the fact they're really large migratory animals that are endangered, so we have a really good idea of where they go and what times of year. They're pretty rare to see in the gulf of Thailand even during whale season, and this time of year they shouldn't even be there at all.
After spending 3 hours asking Marine biologist friends and watching the videos 50 times my final guess is Byrdes whale with a dorsal fin issue(or just hard to see in the images).
My only thought it could be a Pygmy blue - the area fits and also the fact it’s small for a blue. Doesn’t answer the fact they’re incredibly rare and a brydes whale is much more relatively common to spot
Bryde’s whales are pretty common in the Gulf of Thailand and they have a small dorsal set far back on the body which wouldn’t be visible in these photos due to the angle. We went on a whale watch in the Gulf and saw quite a few of them.
I'd say because it's filmed from below so you don't see it.
Here's another video https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Rmaz1V7JDiGtdkdn/?mibextid=oFDknk
Edit: just saw above video had been posted in the other thread.
Link doesn’t work but I took the footage myself (one of the videos is from my dive buddy). Do you not think we had a high enough angle to see the dorsal fin?
Asked a few i know who where on the dive too, and they all say it's a Bryde's.
*Edit: Not sure why I'm getting down voted.
But further why I think it's a Bryde's and not a Blue whale.
https://thailand.prd.go.th/en/content/category/detail/id/2078/iid/185437
Blue whales have only been spotted 3 times, and only on the west coast of Thailand. So highly unlikely it's one here on the east coast, but if it's one congrats,
Bryde's are spotted on the east coast though along Samui, Phangan and Tao island.
Sail Rock, Chumphon Pinnacle, Southwest Pinnacle… there are a bunch of good sites in the Ang Thong Marine Park that are worth checking out, too, but it’s unusual to do them from Koh Tao. Or it was - that might have changed. Some of the other sites are kinda good, some are kinda lame, and the tech sites (like the Torpedo) are pretty cool if you’re qualified.
I'd agree. Based on lack of dorsal fin, very likely a pygmy blue whale. Either way, an incredible sight.
/u/thpj20, mind sharing with dive shop you went with? I'll be headed there in June and plan to go for a few dives.
Yeah dives with silent diver (they’re off Koh Samui) - probably would be able to dive more if you’re based in KT as the KS boats have to go about an hour before getting to the sites, but if you have to dive in KS then can’t recommend them enough ‘
What diving spot/site in Koh Tao was this?
Chumphong
Blueeeee
Barracuda
You're all wrong. It's a giant remora. ;)
Looks like a Brydes whale to me
Excuse ignorance but should a brydes whale not have a dorsal fin??
I'm pretty sure it's rolled away from the camera. Look at the pectoral fins - the one further from the camera is also longer, suggesting we are looking more at the belly of the whale than its profile
That is crazy and so lucky! I’dve shoot my pants
A big fish
A big mammal
A big one
Big, blurry one.
I have seen Brydes whales just off Sairee beach about 10, 11 years ago. That was pretty insane, to be honest.
Blue whale
If there's a dorsal hidden somewhere that I'm just not seeing then it could be a multitude of different whales(likely byrdes or fin whale). However, if there's no dorsal(more of a hump) I'd pretty confidently guess blue whale/pygmy blue. Thats insane to see on a dive. Congratulations. Edit: friend who instructs on koh tao said it was a byrdes whale if this happened about 2 days ago.
Happened yday! Insane to see a whale in general, but the been chatting with the dive shop since and they said they weren’t sure
Oh shitttt. Dude I've been looking at it over and over and I just can't tell. Not enough dorsal for a byrdes. Pecs are too close to the head for a blue(I think). But I'm far from a whale expert.
Ahah think I have been doing the same of trying to pause the video in a load of different places. I did send the photos and video to a group from UoSydney who are studying them asking for ID 😂
Yeah I'm gonna ask a few marine bio friends tomorrow. I looped the video a couple times and I legitimately can't tell what that thing is. The pec position with an apparent lack of dorsal fin is throwing me off bad. It honestly might be some oddball hybrid whale.
Please let me know !
Marine biologist friend said "it's a whale." Lmao she is apparently not in the whale field either. I'm obsessive over shit like this and I've looked at 20 different species of whales, watched YouTube, and I can't figure it out for sure. The way it moves, the location(not to mention the sighting just 2 days ago), the shape etc. It HAS to be a byrdes whale. I think either 1. Just none of your videos or photos had the right angle for the dorsal 2. It lost its dorsal in an accident/it's drooping to the side(I've done a little research on this and the common cause in wild whales is Collagen breakdown, which goes hand in hand with water that is warmer/too warm like the hot tub water that is Koh Tao) 3. It was born deformed and without a dorsal. At this point I'd be willing to throw a crispy 100 dollar bill down on Byrdes whale with erectile dysfunction in their dorsal due to Collagen breakdown.
Yeah everything does point to a brydes whale, location, number in Thailand, size etc. I haven’t seen enough (read any) other Bryde whales and so am unsure what is the range of size of their dorsal fins, nor chances of them dropping over. Looking for someone who has seen a few and ideally seen them under water to confirm. If the UoSydney marine biologist I emailed gets back and confirms will let you know !
i'd shit my pants
Wetsuit….
100% that is Blue whale.
It's a bryde's whale
[удалено]
There is no visible dorsal tho?
Why 100%? I'm curious... It's in the gulf of Thailand. It'd be pretty rare to see a blue whale tuck in there. Based off location and shape I'd guess a Byrdes whale.. But again you seem confident so please tell me. Edit: I think you right. It'd be hard to see the rear dorsal in the photos but it doesn't look like it has one. Probably a blue whale/pygmy blue. Edit edit: final answer... I think byrdes whale but the dorsal fin is tricky for some reason.
You make it sound like a blue whale would have a hard time fitting in the gulf. That’s silly. I’m not saying it’s a blue whale but to dismiss it because of the gulfs size is silly
I guess it could have been interpreted that way. Sounded good in my head I guess. I was referring to the fact they're really large migratory animals that are endangered, so we have a really good idea of where they go and what times of year. They're pretty rare to see in the gulf of Thailand even during whale season, and this time of year they shouldn't even be there at all. After spending 3 hours asking Marine biologist friends and watching the videos 50 times my final guess is Byrdes whale with a dorsal fin issue(or just hard to see in the images).
My only thought it could be a Pygmy blue - the area fits and also the fact it’s small for a blue. Doesn’t answer the fact they’re incredibly rare and a brydes whale is much more relatively common to spot
I went straight to Blue, or remora and he's messing with is
Once in a lifetime experience.. congrats! What a sighting.
Literally a bucket list experience!
Yeah incredibly lucky !
long boi
Just wanna say that is pretty awesome.
Yeah incredible creature !
Bryde’s whales are pretty common in the Gulf of Thailand and they have a small dorsal set far back on the body which wouldn’t be visible in these photos due to the angle. We went on a whale watch in the Gulf and saw quite a few of them.
Is that the Tamara whale? Looks a lot like my neighbor
Fin
Carl
That’s clearly Dave. Do you not see the mole?
I still think it’s crazy that Dave trained his pet mole to freedive
Basilosaurus
A big one.
A biggie
Blue whale
Bryde's
Would it not need to have a dorsal fin to be brydes?
I'd say because it's filmed from below so you don't see it. Here's another video https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Rmaz1V7JDiGtdkdn/?mibextid=oFDknk Edit: just saw above video had been posted in the other thread.
Link doesn’t work but I took the footage myself (one of the videos is from my dive buddy). Do you not think we had a high enough angle to see the dorsal fin?
Asked a few i know who where on the dive too, and they all say it's a Bryde's. *Edit: Not sure why I'm getting down voted. But further why I think it's a Bryde's and not a Blue whale. https://thailand.prd.go.th/en/content/category/detail/id/2078/iid/185437 Blue whales have only been spotted 3 times, and only on the west coast of Thailand. So highly unlikely it's one here on the east coast, but if it's one congrats, Bryde's are spotted on the east coast though along Samui, Phangan and Tao island.
Wow. Looks like a Boeing. Seeing a whale is my dream! Congrats!
Couldn’t be a Boeing. Doors are closed and everything works. 😂
Clearly a decently big whale
Walter
oh goodness how i cackled
Walter is a good guy.
Where is it?
Koh Tao (Gulf of Thailand)
Bryde’s whale. It was located off chumphon just this week
Damn I've spend 3 months on the rock and never saw this. You are lucky! At wich divesite did you see it? Chumphon?
Yeah Chumphon
Flying to Koh Tao next February. Any must see spots?
Sail Rock, Chumphon Pinnacle, Southwest Pinnacle… there are a bunch of good sites in the Ang Thong Marine Park that are worth checking out, too, but it’s unusual to do them from Koh Tao. Or it was - that might have changed. Some of the other sites are kinda good, some are kinda lame, and the tech sites (like the Torpedo) are pretty cool if you’re qualified.
Looks like a pygmy blue whale, from what I've seen before. Definitely not sure though.
I'd agree. Based on lack of dorsal fin, very likely a pygmy blue whale. Either way, an incredible sight. /u/thpj20, mind sharing with dive shop you went with? I'll be headed there in June and plan to go for a few dives.
Yeah dives with silent diver (they’re off Koh Samui) - probably would be able to dive more if you’re based in KT as the KS boats have to go about an hour before getting to the sites, but if you have to dive in KS then can’t recommend them enough ‘
Amazing. Thank you! Fingers crossed I get to see a whale :)
This was indeed off of chumphon dive site
This is correct. We had a sighting in Australia last year. This is pretty rare. Congratulations!
I thought this, though they’re very rare and couldn’t really cross check any photos ?