For about three weeks now, a pod of whales has been staying and feeding 1 to 3 nautical miles off the coast near Hòn Trâu – Vũng Bồi, Đề Gi sea area, Phù Cát district, Bình Định province. Many locals and tourists come here to admire and capture the rare sight of whales surfacing to hunt. This is unusual for tropical waters in Vietnam.
For about three weeks now, a pod of whales has been staying and feeding 1 to 3 nautical miles off the coast near Hòn Trâu – Vũng Bồi, Đề Gi sea area, Phù Cát district, Bình Định province. Many locals and tourists come here to admire and capture the rare sight of whales surfacing to hunt. This is unusual for tropical waters in Vietnam.
Local fishermen think these are blue whales, but experts confirm they are Bryde’s whales. Recently, two whales have been swimming about 500 meters from shore hunting. The adult whale is over 15 meters long, while the calf measures 5 to 7 meters.
Back in late June of the lunar calendar, many visitors witnessed whale pods hunting in this sea area. Locals say whales also appear here during anchovy and sardine seasons near the shore.
Whales swimming and lingering here for days is rare. Experts say Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) are found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, mostly in tropical and subtropical waters.
A mother whale and her calf swim side by side hunting fish in the sea.
A mother whale and her calf swim side by side hunting fish in the sea.
Whales mainly follow migrating food sources like small baitfish such as anchovies, sardines, krill, and plankton.
After each feeding, the whales roll and twist on the water’s surface.
A whale leaps out of the water with its mouth open to catch prey in the blue sea, surrounded by flocks of seagulls circling above, a breathtaking scene.
Whales hunt near the shore, chasing and swallowing schools of Giò fish, while hundreds of seagull chicks fly overhead to scavenge.
The hunting scene often looks like a giant sailboat towering on the sea surface.
Whales hunting at sunset on Đề Gi sea.
The appearance of the mother whale and her calf has attracted many tourists eager to experience whale watching over the past several days.
In recent days, at dawn and sunset, hundreds of seagulls fly following the whales’ movement, swooping in to steal fish, especially when whales open their mouths to hunt, creating a magical natural moment in central Vietnam’s seas.
