Humpback whale seen for the first time near Pulau Redang, Malaysia

MALAYSIA: A humpback whale was seen near Pulau Redang, caught on camera, and uploaded to TikTok. This was a spectacular sighting since no humpback whales had ever been seen in the area.

The 39-second clip was uploaded on the TikTok account of @akihiro_san28 on Sept 14 and has since been viewed more than 860,000 times.

@akihiro_san28

Buat pertama kali ikan paus di temui di pulau redang #fyp #pulauredang #ikanpaus #utusantv #mstar #majoriti

♬ original sound – Akihirosan – Akihirosan

It shows the top part of the animal breaking through the surface of the waters while a group of fishermen shouts excitedly, “ikan paus! ikan paus!” repeatedly to mean “whale! whale!” in Malay.

One man’s voice can be heard above the rest, calling for the sighting to be caught on video.

On Sept 15 (Sunday), the sighting was commented on by Associate Professor Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah, Marine Biology lecturer from the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT).

She was quoted as saying to Sinar Harian, “Although it is somewhat difficult to identify the whale due to the unclear video recording, I believe it is a humpback whale.”

The shape of the sea creature’s dorsal fin suggested it was a humpback whale. Locally, this whale species is known as ‘paus bongkok’. She added that humpback whales are not dangerous to fishermen and divers. They filter a big volume of water to eat small fish and krill.

Nevertheless, people should not come near the whale since its size may harm humans inadvertently.

Dr Maizah said, “Local residents are advised to be cautious when engaging in activities near these waters, and if they encounter any endangered marine species like this, they should slow down their boats and avoid getting too close.”

Anyone who sees a humpback whale should keep at least 100 meters between themselves and the animal. She further urges fishermen to immediately turn off the engines on their boats and not provoke or chase them.

The sighting of the humpback whale is considered good news by some.

In an interview with The Star, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abdul Rashid, an officer with the Fisheries Research Institute, called it a good opportunity to monitor the humpback whale’s migration patterns.

“The presence of whales from this species is rare in Malaysia, unlike the Bryde’s whale. So, it provides researchers an opportunity to document their migration (and gather) supporting data about the biodiversity and habitats in the area,” he said.

This particular whale species has also been seen in Malaysia near Pulau Pangkor, Perak and Miri, Sarawak. /TISG

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