91Èȱ¬

A rarely seen species of whale has been spotted off the coast of Shetland.

The newest sighting of the beluga whale is only the sixth time that the mammal has been seen in Scottish waters.

Locals who captured footage of the beluga at West Ayre in Hillswick described the creature, known as the white whale, as "very beautiful."

Wildlife charities believe there are only around 150,000 of the whales left in the world.

Wildlife photographer Richard Shucksmith captured footage of the mammal after being alerted to it by social media posts from Shetland locals.

He told 91Èȱ¬ Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It was amazing to see. Someone who lives locally had spotted it and we have a good network in Shetland of naturalists and social media [users].

"We picked it up straight away... It just stood out, this beautiful ivory white whale swimming along. It was very beautiful."

Previous sightings of beluga whales occurred in Unst in 1976, 1997 and 2021, off Hoswick in 1996 and off Fair Isle in 2023.

They are most commonly found in icy Arctic waters and are known for being sociable, while their noisy chirping and whistling have led them dubbed "the canary of the sea".

Local wildlife experts in the area told 91Èȱ¬ Scotland News that they had been contacted by naturalists from Scandinavia, who were interested in whether the beluga could have been Hvaldimir, the alleged former Russian spy whale.

However locals do not believe that to be the case.

Hugh Harrop, of Shetland Wildlife, said: "It's possible that it could be Hvaldimir but it is unlikely.

"There have been enough recent sightings of beluga whales in Scotland that it is more likely to be another whale."

Hvaldimir was first spotted off Norway's coast in 2019 wearing a harness fitted with a GoPro camera mount and clips bearing the inscription "Equipment of St Petersburg".

Russia has denied the existence of any programmes seeking to train sea mammals as spies.

Mr Harrop added that sightings of whales might increase, due to growing awareness of nature among the public, and social media enabling people to share information quickly.

He also praised a "really good community spirit" on Shetland when it came to observing wildlife.

Beluga whales are most commonly seen in Canada, Russia and around the Arctic Circle.

Nicola Hodgins, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation charity, said there were a number of reasons why the beluga could have been in Scottish waters, which she called a "special treat" for wildlife enthusiasts.

She stated: "Some of them are classified as vagrants, which means one has swum outside its normal range. Other individuals may have got lost, or taken a wrong turn somewhere."

Ms Hodgins added that beluga whales face an uncertain future due to being hunted, a lack of prey availability and climate change.