Narwhal washed up on Donegal beach raises climate change concerns

Narwhal, an arctic species of whale found dead and stranded on the Donegal coastline. Picture: Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

A narwhal has washed up on a Co Donegal beach in what experts say may be a stark sign of a changing climate.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) confirmed on Friday that a female narwhal, a species never before recorded in Ireland, was recovered after being found on Sweet Nellies Beach on the Inishowen Peninsula.

The narwhal, a toothed whale typically found in Arctic waters north of 60°, was discovered by a family walking along the shoreline, who reported the stranded two–three metre animal to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).

Volunteers arrived quickly to recover the remains and take skin samples, before transporting the carcass with NPWS staff to the Regional Laboratory in Cork for post-mortem examination.

Christopher O’Sullivan, minister for nature, heritage and biodiversity, said the discovery was significant and thanked those involved in retrieving the whale.

He said an examination “will reveal important details about its life and history, and shed some light on the reasons why it arrived on our shores.” 

Calling the event “a stark reminder of the vulnerability of wildlife in the face of a changing climate,” the minister noted that narwhals are “mainly found in cooler waters". 

Dr Simon Berrow, IWDG chief executive, said the stranding was “remarkable” and noted a wider pattern of shifts in marine species as waters warm.

“As our waters warm we have seen a northern movement of whales and dolphins in Irish waters as fish move north seeking cooler waters,” he said. 

“To have an Arctic species stranded for the first time is somewhat unexpected.” 

Narwhal, an arctic species of whale found dead and stranded on the Donegal coastline. Picture: Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

He said the appearance of another Arctic species, a bowhead whale, in 2016 may signal broader changes in marine ecosystems as ice melts, adding that long-term monitoring and public reporting are crucial.

Niall Ó Donnchú, NPWS director general, described the incident as “extraordinary and unprecedented,” and thanked the family who reported the discovery as well as the teams who retrieved the animal.

The NPWS, he said, will continue working with partners “to better understand the impacts of climate and ecological change on vulnerable species.” 

Globally, around 170,000 narwhals are believed to exist, with the species threatened by shrinking ice cover, pollution, and long-established hunting practices in Inuit communities of northern Canada and Greenland.

The species is rarely recorded outside the Arctic. The last western European record was in Belgium in 2016, with earlier strandings in England in 1949 and historical sightings off Scotland in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The Donegal discovery is the 10th narwhal stranding in western Europe and only the fourth involving a female.

The IWDG says it will continue working on the case as part of its Deep Diving and Rare Investigation Programme, which aims to better understand unusual strandings of this kind.