The whale usually eats squid, which is likely to be scarce in the area Conservationists are telling people not to approach a 9m (30ft) whale after it was spotted off the Dorset coast. The northern bottlenose, which has been named Gilbert after an RNLI lifeguard who spotted him, has been seen swimming near Bournemouth Pier and in Poole Bay. Rescuers fear if the mammal feeds only on small fish in the area, rather than its usual diet of squid, it may become dehydrated, as it gets water from food. Experts headed out on a boat to check on the whale's welfare earlier. Jenny O'Connor, rescuer for British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), said: "It is very unusual to see a whale around here." 'Very nervous' She added: "Gilbert should have actually have gone over Scotland and down the west coast. It is very strange to see him in Poole Bay. "We are concerned about his welfare and are monitoring to see if he is feeding as he gets his water from his food and we are worried he may get dehydrated. "We do not want too many boats going near him because it will make him very nervous and stressed and this could cause him medical problems." RNLI lifeguard Nick "Gilbert" Smith spotted the whale during a patrol a couple of days ago. He said: "We were just out on a jet ski when we saw it. "We didn't know what it was to start and took a photo of it and later found out it was a bottlenose whale. "I don't know much about them, and have never seen one off Dorset, but it seemed to look fine. "It was diving down, coming up for air and looking OK." Rescuers will try to encourage Gilbert into the English Channel then off down to the Atlantic to join the rest of his pod. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement



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