A whale has been spotted off the Polish coast after apparently losing its way. The animal was sighted in the Gulf of Gdansk and confirmed as a minke whale, possibly the same whale seen off Sweden a month ago. This is a rare appearance of such a marine mammal in the Baltic Sea.

The whale, which would normally live in the North Sea or the Altantic, would have made its way into the Baltic through the narrow outlet across the Straits of Oeresund between Sweden and Denmark. However if it stays in the area the whale faces the risk of dying of hunger because the Baltic lacks krill, the tiny crustaceans which are its traditional food. The minke is the smallest of the baleen whales and can be found throughout the world's oceans, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. These particular whales can be seen from the shore in the U.K. and Ireland, especially in Scotland, the Northern Isles and Western Ireland.

A young minke whale recently stayed in Fraserburgh Harbour, Scotland for three days but fortunately made it back out to sea.