First confirmed sightings of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) in the Philippines since the 19th century

Abstract

For over two centuries there were no records of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Philippines. Whalers recorded Blue Whales in the Philippines in the 19th century, and the next confirmed sighting in the country was of a mother and calf in 2004. Since then 33 subsequent Blue Whale sightings of potentially one individual were recorded between 2004 and 2019, all within the central region of the Philippines around the Bohol Sea. This individual, recognized through photo-identification, was sighted on at least 13 occasions during eight different years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. The geographic location and timing of the sightings (January to July) suggest that Blue Whales in the Philippines may extend the outer range edge of the Indo-Australian population that migrate between western Australia, Indonesia, and East Timor. Blue Whale sightings in the Bohol Sea coincide with times of high ocean productivity, although further investigation is needed to determine if they are actually feeding in this region. Acoustic studies and photo-identification matching with other Blue Whale catalogues will clarify the stock identity of Blue Whales in the Philippines and their relation to the rest of the Blue Whale population, with implications for the conservation of this endangered species across multiple jurisdictions.

Offshore Wind Roadmap for the Philippines

“…The Irrawaddy dolphin population is in Malampaya, Palawan while dugongs are mostly situated in the southern and western Mindanao coast, Guimaras Strait and Antique, Aurora, Quezon province, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu Archipelago . Also, there have been numerous sightings of blue whales in the Bohol Sea from 2010 to 2019 45 .…”

Patterns of Research Effort and Extinction Risk of Marine Mammals in the Philippines

“…Other rare cetaceans include the rough-toothed dolphin, which has only been documented in the Babuyan Islands (Nakagun et al, 2013), the blue whale in the Bohol Sea (Acebes et al, 2021), and beaked whales, of which there have been only sporadic sightings. In contrast to habitat-restricted species, some odontocetes such as spinner, pantropical spotted, and bottlenose dolphins appear to be more cosmopolitan, being found in wider depth ranges and with more flexible in habitat preferences (Dolar et al, 2006;Tiongson and Karczmarski, 2016).…”