Strange first sightings of dolphin in saltwater Cork lake – VIDEO

Update: Sadly according the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group Facebook page this dolphin was found dead. "Local whale watch expert, Colin Barnes, that he has just seen a dead dolphin washed up on the island on Lough Hyne".

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) have reported the first sighting of a dolphin in an Irish lake. This is the first time a cetacean has been sighted in such an environment.

The kayaker who spotted the extraordinary occurrence taped the young dolphin over two days. Jim Kennedy was kayaking in the saltwater lake Lough Hyne, near Baltimore, County Cork. The kayaking instructor returned over a number of days to film the animal.

IWDG co-ordinator Pádraig Whooley told the Irish Times, “The IWDG frequently documents cetaceans in bays, occasionally in estuaries, rarely in rivers, but to the best of my knowledge, and I’m open to correction, this is the first validated record of a cetacean using an Irish lake.”

--------------------
READ MORE:
More offbeat stories from IrishCentral

Sneak Peek: Daniel Day- Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg tipped biopic

Will Newt Gingrich be the next Irish Catholic president?
--------------------

Since Kennedy recorded the dolphin there have been no other sightings reported. However, there is no evidence to suggest that he has left the lough for the open sea.

Whooley said “There were no further sightings after the second day, so we would not be overly confident that it made its way out of the lough into Barlogue Creek and back to open sea. But without any stranding reports within the lough, there is always a chance.

“It also means we can add another habitat type that can potentially be utilized by Irish cetaceans and, of course, those tasked with conserving and studying this unique site can claim that its species diversity now extends to dolphins.”

Previously, Afloat.ie reported the sighting of a 13-metre fin whale in Lough Hyne. Sadly, the whale was found dead on the Sligo coast last week.

In 1991 the Irish waters were declared a whale and dolphin sanctuary. The first of its kind in Europe.