(Season starting from May at Trincomalee)

World largest animal on earth – Blue whale watching (Season starting from May at Trincomalee) Sri Lanka has become the latest hotspots for the Blue whale, the largest Animal on earth. Blue whales were killed in thousands for their body fat in the early 1900’s which drove them almost to extinction until the protection by the international community in 1966. The blue whale population which was estimated around 300,000 before the whaling boom had come down to just 650-2000 whales by the time the ban was introduced. The population growth after the ban as been very slow and a 2002 report estimated a worldwide estimation between 5000 – 12,000 after almost 40 years of protection. The Blue whale is still classified as a Endangered Species. While the world was counting whales elsewhere a small population of whales around Sri Lanka, was growing unseen and unchecked by everybody due to the 30 years of terrorist war. After end of the war in 2009, 3 locations around Sri Lanka was found to be bubbling with Blue whales, Ocras (killer whales), Sperm Whales, Pilot Whales, Whale Sharks and large pods of Dolphins What is unique about the Blue whales around Sri Lanka are that some colonies remain in the same area through out the year while most whales worldwide travel thousands of kilometers each year in search of food sources. Therefore whales can be seen through out year in Sri Lanka but there are peaks months where the migrant whales joins the feast.

There are 3 areas which has become world hot spots for Blue whales which is said to have 70% – 90% strike rate based on the time of the season.(Trincomalee,mirissa kalpitiya.)

The seas of Trincomalee was knows the whale population since 1980. Today few small boats operates off coast of Trincomalee which is more suitable for watching dolphins. Currently only the Sri Lankan Navy operates a ship with adequate facilities for whale watching. The whale watching season for Trincomalee is May to August