Sperm whale spotted 40 nautical miles off Karachi, the first documented sighting, WWF says

A sperm whale about 45 feet (around 14 metres) long has been spotted 40 nautical miles southwest of Karachi, the World Wide Fund for Nature said on Friday, 6 November 2026, describing it as the first documented sighting of a sperm whale in the waters off Karachi, ARY News reported.

Zahid Maker, a WWF board member, saw the whale during a sea expedition, and the team recorded video showing its distinctive features.

Why the sighting matters

Until now, 26 species of whales and dolphins had been documented in Pakistani waters, according to WWF. Toothed whales had been recorded along the coast before, but not a sperm whale off Karachi.

Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales. They are known for their huge, blunt heads and for diving deep to hunt squid, which makes them hard to see from boats and is one reason sightings are rare.

Threats in Pakistan's waters

WWF said the main dangers to whales and dolphins off Pakistan remain:

• entanglement in fishermen's nets,
• collisions with ships, especially near busy shipping lanes into Karachi and Port Qasim,
• marine pollution, including plastic.

A week of whale news on the coast

The sighting came a day after a dead blue whale washed ashore at Gwadar's East Bay, which WWF-Pakistan is investigating. Read our Gwadar blue whale report.