The true identity of a famous killer whale known as ‘Dopey Dick’ -
Crowds flocked to see the orca every day after he swum up the River Foyle and into the city, apparently in pursuit of salmon, in November 1977.
HWDT
Locals dubbed him ‘Dopey Dick’ as he thwarted a rescue operation, including British Army efforts, to herd him to the open sea for several days. Recently, his adventures featured on a TV programme.
It has now been revealed that Dopey Dick is in fact the killer whale known more affectionately
as Comet -
His true identity was discovered when old photographs were uploaded onto a Facebook page.
Killer whale expert, Andy Foote, and Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Science Officer, Dr Conor Ryan, recognised the whale in the images as Comet, last spotted off Skye in September 2014.
Comet has been photographed many times in both Scotland and Ireland by researchers and members of the public, enabling scientists to track his movements.
Dr Andy Foote said: “When I saw the photos on Facebook, I noticed that the white eye patch of Dopey Dick sloped backwards in a really distinctive fashion.
"This is a trait we see in all the West Coast Community whales, but it’s not that common in other killer whale populations.
"The photographs were all quite grainy, but it was still possible to see some of
the distinctive features unique to Comet. I couldn’t believe it – he was already
a full grown male back in 1977, when I was just five-
Dr Conor Ryan said: “Most of what we know about this precariously small and isolated population of killer whales comes from photographs submitted to us by members of the public. The population is too small to study in a targeted way, so the public has a big role to play.”
The discovery that Dopey Dick was in fact Comet is significant because it confirms suspicions that some of the whales in the endangered West Coast Community are very old. They have not produced any calves since records began.
Fears for their survival are heightened following recent discoveries that other killer whales in the region have very high pollutant burdens that can cause toxic effects, including infertility.
Minch killer whale had city hooked
3 April 2016
Comet, the killer whale, frequents the Minch