A jaw-dropping video shows minke whales swimming alongside a fishing boat in the Firth of Forth.
Fisherman Stephen-john Duthie captured footage of the incredible creatures coming up to within metres of his boat around five-miles off the coast of Dunbar, East Lothian, this week.
He told Edinburgh Live the video was taken around 9.15am on Wednesday morning, with two whales – a mother and calf – in close proximity.
Stephen-john said: "It's not the first time I've seen the whales here in the Firth of Forth but its the first time I've seen them so close.
"The Firth of Forth has an array of marine mammals from orca, sei whales, minke whales, seals, dolphins and a massive colony of sea birds. It's not uncommon to see any of them but it is to get them so close to the boat."
Minke whales, which are among the smallest rorqual whales, are typically found North Atlantic Ocean but also off the coasts of Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and in the northern Pacific.
According to the WWF "like other great whales, minkes migrate to temperate and tropical waters in winter and polar waters in summer. Minke whales are often solitary, although they often travel in pairs or groups of three. In higher latitudes they are sometimes found in larger groups". They tend to live for around 40 to 50 years.
They are known to feed primarily on krill and small fish, although they do also eat arctic cod, haddock and sand eel.
You can check out the full video of the whale off the coast of Dunbar in our player at the top of the article.
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