Whale. Photo: Shutterstock, Nico Faramaz Another tragic case of a whale dying as a result of being hit by a large vessel.
In this case, a humpback whale died and washed ashore on Ocean Ridge Beach in Delaware, USA, after floating at sea for several days.
According to a report by the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute (MERR) in the US, the whale is a young male, about 9.8 meters long and weighing about 9 tons.
The whale was dragged to shore only after heavy equipment was brought to the scene. "The tossing and churning in the surf caused gases to form and inflate the tongue, which appears like a giant balloon in the initial photos," the institute said on its Facebook page.
It was also reported that "the whale was secured and towed to higher ground so that MERR’s necropsy team could perform a post-mortem examination on Friday, Jan. 9. The team was able to discern that the whale had subdermal hemorrhaging and a broken jaw on the right side. This type of blunt force injury is often associated with a large ship strike, and the nature of the wounds indicates that the whale was still alive when it was struck."
The whale was eventually buried on the beach, which is the most common practice for handling such bodies. “These large whales cannot be safely towed out to sea, so burying them on the beach allows them to become an important part of the beach ecosystem,” the institute said.
"This was a tragic event, and we would like to thank everyone who helped to support us in our examination of this whale,” said MERR executive director Suzanne Thurman. “MERR’s volunteers were as wonderful as ever, and worked tirelessly to assist in examining the whale in a very short window of time.
We would also like to thank DNREC for providing heavy equipment resources for towing and burial of the whale. They were able to tow the whale up onto the beach so we could safely examine it, and their staff was indispensable in helping us to position the whale so that we could get as much information as possible.”
She added, “And last but certainly not least, we would like to thank the very kind homeowners in Ocean Ridge. They looked out for our volunteers by sending down coffee and doughnuts, letting us use their bathroom, and for showing so much caring and compassion for this beautiful animal. We always appreciate the fact that we live in a community that cares so much about the ocean and its creatures.”
We recently published the equally disturbing case of a giant whale, approximately 9 meters long, found dead on the bow of a container ship in the port of Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA.