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April 25, 2008

Block Islanders seeing whales spout and surface

BLOCK ISLAND -- For more than a week, people on Block Island have been treated to whale sightings off the eastern shore.

Believed to be finback, minke or possibly humpback whales, the massive marine mammals have been seen spouting and occasionally surfacing off Pebbly and Crescent beaches.

All three species are baleen, meaning they filter phytoplankton, bait fish and tiny crustaceans from huge gulps of water using plates along their upper jaw.

The whales are likely migrating to cooler waters as summer approaches, said Janelle Schuh, stranding coordinator for Mystic Aquarium.

“Maybe they just got lucky and found themselves some good food,” said Schuh, who learned of the sightings yesterday.

Whales could be seen blowing from their blow holes east of Old Harbor at least a dozen times Wednesday as the 5 p.m. ferry departed from the island.

-- Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 12:18 PM | Permalink

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