Two minke whales were this week spotted offshore of Peel.

On Monday, the whales were seen about 1.5 miles off Contrary Head.

Ian Young and his wife, Jane Young, were sailing in a rigid inflatable boat searching for marine life when they noticed a minke whale in the water.

The couple followed the whale around the coast.

Ian, from Peel, said: ’We followed the whale for about half an hour. It was dead still with no wind at all and then suddenly another one erupted out of the water about 100 metres away from us on the other side of our boat.’

The two whales were feeding on a large bait ball alongside hundreds of birds at the time.

Minke whales are the second smallest baleen whale.

They can measure anywhere between eight and ten metres when fully grown.

The 62-year-old saw the two whales at 10.30am and was shocked he had watched one of the whales breach.

He continued: ’Personally, I’ve seen basking sharks breach before lots of times but not minkes.

’My wife was taking pictures of the one in front of us but when the other jumped out of the water she quickly turned around and managed to catch it in action.’

Jen Adams, outreach and education manager at Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch, stressed how rare it was to have a picture of such an event.

She said: ’For her to get that on camera is incredible because it’s very unusual behaviour. Breaching can be the sign of a really good feed, it could be to help muscle development or may be a way of communicating.’

Minke whales are solitary animals, so Jen explained that it was ’more likely’ the two whales ’happened to come together to feed on a bait ball.’

It’s not uncommon to see minke whales at this time of year as they will start appearing in May and stay on the west coast through the summer.

The charity asks the public to report any sightings of whales and dolphins.

Jen added: ’It’s important to report sightings so we can get a clearer understanding of how dolphins and whales are using Manx waters, plus we can keep track of population numbers and it gives an indication of the health of marine life.’

She continued: ’If you end up in a situation like this either cut your engines off or move slowly.

’Do not approach the animal and respect that you’re in their environment.’

You can report any sightings to the Whale and Dolphin Watch via its website or you can go to its visitors’ centre in Peel.