Humpback whale spotted leaping from sea near Hastings

Kitty Dale spotted the whale from Hastings seafront yesterday, January 3.

She said: “I’d just had lunch at the White Rock Hotel when I saw people looking at the sea.

“I assumed it was a seal they were looking at to start with, then saw the whale so grabbed my phone and filmed it.

“I’m so lucky to see it. It was awesome.”

A spokeswoman for Sussex Dolphin Project has confirmed it was a humpback whale.

“We can confirm that the whale seen off Sussex was indeed a humpback whale”, the spokeswoman said. 

“By breaching out of the water it gave us a fantastic glimpse of it’s long, white pectoral fins which is one of the easiest ways to identify it as a humpback.

Sightings of humpback whales are rare in Sussex (Image: Kitty Dale) “Humpback whale sightings off the coast of Sussex are rare but not completely unexpected at this time of year, we tend to have reports of one or two passing through around this time of year.

“They spend the winter feeding up in and around the Arctic circle, and migrate back down towards the tropics and their breeding grounds around this time of year.

“The majority of whales travel down the west coast of the UK, however a few take a different turning when they get to the top of Scotland and travel down the East Coast, past Dover, and through the channel to the Atlantic. 

“This year the whales seem determined to give us a good show.”

READ MORE: Sussex stargazers spot rare celestial sight

The group also emphasised the importance of reporting sightings to “document the amazing marine wildlife that we see off the Sussex coast” as well as to improve knowledge.

Any sightings of whales, dolphins or porpoises can be reported on the Sussex Dolphin Project website at https://sussexdolphinproject.org/report-a-dolphin-sighting/.

“If people are unsure of what they have seen, sightings should still be reported along with any media if possible and our team can identify the species”, the spokeswoman added.

In the video, the whale breaches the water, creating a huge splash when it re-enters. Scientists believe breaching is a method of communication for the creatures.

The Marine Mammal Centre website reads: “Researchers suspect that breaching, along with other loud surface behaviours like tail slapping and flipper slapping, are ways to communicate with other whales—underwater, the splash can be heard for miles.”