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Video: Rare dolphins spotted in UAE waters after 24 years

Dubai - The earliest known recorded sighting of these dolphins was in 1995.

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By Keith Pereña

Published: Mon 18 Feb 2019, 5:44 PM

Last updated: Mon 18 Feb 2019, 7:47 PM

A pod of false killer whales, a species of dolphins which have not been seen in UAE waters for 24 years, were recently spotted by a group of divers earlier this month.
In an Instagram post, the Fujairah Whale Project shared more details about the false killer whales. The small pod was spotted off the coast of the emirate by the XR Hub Dive Centre staff and their clients. According to the Fujairah Whale Project, the earliest known recorded sighting of these species was in 1995.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Simon Nadim, general manager and owner of XR Hub Dive Centre said him and his group first spotted the false killer whales around noontime.
"It was during noon on February 9 when we first saw them. Our group was coming back from a dive when we noticed something jutting out of the water." Nadim said.

 
 
 
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On the 9th February a small pod of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) was spotted off the Fujairah coastline, approximately 4-5km offshore by the XR Hub Dive Centre staff and their clients. The earliest known scientifically recorded sighting of this species in Fujairah dates back to 1995. Unlike their common name suggests, false killer whales actually belong to the dolphin family and can reach a length of 6m. These large oceanic dolphins are more closely related to Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata) and pilot whales (Globicephala sp.) than they are to killer whales (Orcinus orca), all of which also belong in the dolphin family. These are likely to be some of the same animals recorded only a day earlier just north east off Ras Ad-Dalaj in Musandam, Oman by staff and clients of Ras Musandam Divers. Thanks to our citizen scientists we can add another species to the list of cetaceans that are observed in Fujairah waters. Photo credit: Dr Csaba Géczy. Video credit in comment below: Majed Hamra ?? 9 ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ????? ??????? ? ??? ??? 4-5 ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ???? ????????. ? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? 1995.??? ??? ????? ?????? ? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? 6 ?????. ??? ???????? ???????? ??????? ????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ???? ???????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ? ????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????????? ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????. ???? ??????? ????????? ? ?????? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?????????? ???? ??? ???????? ?? ???? ??????? #5oes #fujairahwhaleproject #fujairah #cetaceanresearch #marinemammalresearch #uae #emirates #research
A post shared by Fujairah Whale Project (@fujairahwhaleproject) on
Nadim narrated that they saw around 20 false killer whales. "10 of them were near our boat, we could see about 15 to 20 of them. But there could be more underwater," he added.
He then alerted the Fujairah Whale Project about his findings. "They were the ones who told us that they were actually dolphins," he said.
False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are dolphins which can reach an overall length of six metres. These large dolphins are not in any way related to killer whales (Orcinus orca), hence their name. The Fujairah Whale Project posited that these dolphins could be the same animals that were spotted off the coast of Musandam, Oman only a day earlier.
keith@khaleejtimes.com

Keith Pereña

Published: Mon 18 Feb 2019, 5:44 PM

Last updated: Mon 18 Feb 2019, 7:47 PM

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