Red Sea reserves document five whale species from past sighting records
The reserves' records cover humpback, Bryde's, Omura's, pygmy blue and killer whales, with sightings logged off Hurghada, Magawish, Safaga and south of El Quseir. They say it is not a new discovery.
9 November 2026
Red Sea reserves say five whale species have been recorded in Egyptian waters of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, based on a review of scientific records and published studies covering sightings from different years.
The reserves set out the review on their Facebook page and stressed it is not the discovery of five new species at once. They describe it as documentation of earlier sightings that shows how varied the region's marine mammals are and helps researchers identify places worth continued monitoring and protection.
The five species and where they were seen
- Humpback whale — sightings in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2016 off Sharm el-Sheikh, Abu Ramada, Hurghada, Magawish, south of El Quseir and Wadi El Gemal.
- Bryde's whale — records from 1950, 2008, 2009 and 2012 around Shalatin, Abu Dabbab, Abu Fandira and the southern Red Sea.
- Omura's whale — documented near Safaga in 2009.
- Pygmy blue whale — recorded near Taba in the Gulf of Aqaba in 2018.
- Killer whale, or orca — a stranding near Abu Galum in South Sinai in 2017.
The reserves also point to historical reports of whales in the Red Sea dating back to 1878 and 1893, far earlier than any of the modern sightings.
The review lands days after footage of a large whale near Umm Qamar island off Hurghada circulated online. Some people working in marine activities suggested it was a blue or a fin whale, but the available information on that encounter carries no final scientific identification, and the reserves treat their records review as separate from that single recent sighting.
A species logged in past years is not necessarily present permanently or in large numbers. Establishing whether these whales live in the Red Sea or pass through at certain times needs more data on their numbers, movements and behaviour, the reserves say.
On watching whales, the reserves say responsible practice means not chasing them and not approaching in a way that changes their natural behaviour, and avoiding disturbing them while they are near the surface.