Humpback whale spotted off Porthleven, Cornwall

A humpback whale has been caught on camera off the coast of Cornwall.

Dan Abbott, a wildlife camera man, said he and his friend travelled from Bristol to Porthleven on Monday to capture the mammal on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people headed to Falmouth in February after three humpback whales were spotted off the coast.

Mr Abbott said it was the first time he had seen a humpback whale in the UK, and that he planned his journey to catch it on camera.

He said: "We arrived at sunrise, I actually drove down the night before from Bristol because we heard the humpbacks being spotted around Cornwall, which they have been for several weeks now.

"We picked a spot and we stayed there until sunset, and we saw the whale about an hour before."

Mr Abbot said his priority was to catch the mammal breaching - when it propels its body out of the water.

He said: "Seeing a humpback whale is always really special because they tend to be quite active over the surface, breaching and things like that, so it's always a great species to try and catch on film."

Cornwall Wildlife Trust's project Seaquest Southwest has been appealing for people to get in touch with any other whale sightings in the county since sightings began in February.

Mr Abbot said sightings were always exciting, but when filming "you're doing everything you can to just concentrate, stay focused, keep it in frame, anticipate its next movements - all those kinds of boring things".

He said he would be "keeping an eye" on any other whale sightings in the future.

"If I can go again I will for sure," he said.

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