Beluga whale seen in the Netherlands for first time in 60 years

A beluga whale, also known as a witte dolfijn (white dolphin) in Dutch, has been seen off the coast of the Netherlands. This is the first beluga whale sighting in the country since 1966.

Rare sighting of beluga whale off Dutch coast

The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM) recently spotted a beluga whale in the water near Callanstoog in the Netherlands. More sightings of the whale followed in Groote Keeten, Julianadorp and Den Helder.

After it was determined that the beluga was in good health, the sea rescue, together with the coastguard, decided to let the whale continue undisturbed. The rare sighting caught a lot of attention in Dutch media.

"This is incredibly rare," Jeroen Hoekendijk of SOS Dolfijn told NOS. "The last time a beluga whale was seen in the Netherlands was in 1966, when it swam up the Rhine from the North Sea and eventually reached Duisburg, Germany. The zoo there took care of it."

Belugas rarely travel south towards the Netherlands

Beluga whales have a thick layer of blubber perfect for withstanding the freezing temperatures of their home waters near the Arctic. According to experts, they don’t normally travel further south than northern Norway.

Hoekendijk worries about the beluga’s survival in the North Sea, where it’s a lot warmer. "Based on what I've seen, he's definitely not thin or emaciated. If I had seen him swimming around like that near Spitsbergen, I would have said: no problem. But in the North Sea, he's a bit like a polar bear on the beach," he said.

The beluga was also seen swimming alone when groups of two to 15 are the norm. However, every subsequent sighting of the whale was further north in the Netherlands, which points to the beluga returning to the Arctic.