A man who thought he had spotted a pale dolphin swimming close to shore while out with his family actually filmed an ultra-rare Arctic white whale.
Sebastian Szumlański launched his drone after noticing the creature moving through shallow, brackish water.
Sebastian sent the clip to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), whose experts confirmed it was a beluga.
READ MORE: What Britain’s oldest lapdogs looked like 2,000 years ago
- Advertisement -
The sighting is only the second beluga record the group has validated in its 35-year history, and only the sixth ever documented in Irish waters, as reported by What’s The Jam.
Belugas usually live in the freezing waters of the Arctic and sub-Arctic, and adults can grow up to 5m, or 16ft, long.
Ireland’s first documented narwhal, another Arctic species from the same family, stranded on Sweet Nellies Beach, on the Inishowen Peninsula, in November 2025.
Pádraig Whooley, sightings officer at the IWDG, said in a blog post: “It is interesting that within an 11-month period, IWDG has validated our first narwhal and a beluga in Co Donegal.
“This is likely evidence of just how rapidly things are changing in Irish waters.”
- Advertisement -
Sebastian was visiting Fintra, Donegal Bay, with his family when he spotted the whale in an area known locally as the Secret Waterfall.
He later showed the video to a friend, and the footage was then shared with the IWDG.
At first, the team saw no cause for concern, as the whale seemed to be swimming strongly and breathing normally.
- Advertisement -
But experts at the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) in Quebec, who monitor the St Lawrence River’s belugas, agreed it was emaciated, though it was “still subtle and could be worse”.
Jade-Audrey Lavergne, a research assistant at GREMM, shared their findings, saying its tail fluke looked too large for its body, and its skin was folding inwards near its dorsal crest.
However, nothing in its behaviour suggested it was in distress, and it even seemed curious about the drone.
The GREMM team felt it was an adult and, as it lacked the broad shoulders typical of males, most likely female.
Belugas have been reported off the Irish coast five times before, the first in September 1948 off Co Mayo.
In July 2015, a solitary adult was spotted off Dunseverick, Co Antrim. It was the first sighting the IWDG validated with photographs.
The latest sighting, on 17 October, narrows the gap between confirmed Irish records to 11 years.
Mr Whooley said: “Whether this is due to increased forays of this Arctic vagrant in response to fragmentation of Arctic sea ice, or an increase in observer effort remains unclear.”
The IWDG has asked anyone who spots the whale to take pictures or video and report the sighting.
Mr Whooley added: “We live in interesting times.”
READ MORE: Acrobatic skunk does perfect HANDSTAND on camera
