Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 130, October 2015, pp. 1-18. | Page 6

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UAE interact Website mentions: “Perhaps a third of all known species of whales
and dolphins occur off the shores of the UAE. Some are common whilst others,
such as the shy beaked whales, have yet to be confirmed in UAE waters, but are
thought to occur here due to sightings in neighbouring Oman, or simply due to
their known habitat preferences. The deep underwater canyons and cliffs on the
edge of the continental shelf off UAE's east coast is where most species can be
found, including deep-water cetaceans like the mighty sperm whale (Physeter
macrocephalus) and Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus). However, the warm, sandy
shallows of the Arabian Gulf are favoured by species adapted for shallow water
life, such as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and the
rare finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides)”.

The Skeleton of the 10.5-meters Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) which stranded on
Umm Al-Maradem Island coast in Kuwait on 23.03.1978 and is displayed at the
Educational Science Museum in Kuwait. Photo by: Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalafvon Jaffa. 24.06.2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/14485018250/
UAE interact Website continues: “Species to look out for are the enormous blue
whale (Balaenoptera musculus); the slighter smaller fin whale (Balaenopterus
physalus), which has a distinctive pattern of white pigment on its lower
jaw; Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) with subtle grey marking covering its
broad back; and the humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), which arches its slate
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 130 – October 2015