Whale Beachings

[rynner2]

That's the second place in Devon I've encountered in the news today. Woolacombe was near my first posting in HM Coastguard, and Hartland Quay was near where we lived in my second post at Hartland Point.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

Thought to be a fin or baleen whale, at Hartland Quay, yesterday

That first photo is magnificent.

Whale: I guess it's curtains for me! Of all the places . . .
Devonshire Folk: Let's drive across the nose of this horrible, dead thing and declare Drexit Island! :glee:

 

[hunck]

That first photo is magnificent.

Whale: I guess it's curtains for me! Of all the places . . .
Devonshire Folk: Let's drive across the nose of this horrible, dead thing and declare Drexit Island! :glee:

What is that on it's nose?

 

[rynner2]

The Beeb report (with pics):
Whale washes up on rocks at Hartland Quay

A whale thought to be as long as 10m (32ft) has washed up on the rocks in Devon.
The fin whale's carcass was spotted near Hartland Quay at about 16:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Richard Haste from Torridge Council said it would require a "major operation" to remove the whale.
He urged people to avoid the area and dog owners to keep dogs on leads due to the possible bio-hazard risks.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were involved in checking and identifying the whale.
Stephen Marsh from the charity said it was clear from the first photos it was a fin whale. He said it was small, less than half the 25m the creature can grow to.

He said: "With Fin whales we get about five or six a year coming into the UK but they are usually dead.
"We don't know where it came from; it could have washed up anywhere. The majority of these animals die at sea and we never see them."

Cheryl Fan Duerden, sent by the charity to identify the whale, said: "Very sad to see it flopped over and lodged amongst the rocks and blood in the rock pools, but to see a whale in its entirety is still pretty awesome."
She said she went with her husband on Wednesday evening to investigate and found the whale was already in a bad state of decomposition.
She said: "The skin was gone so it would've probably died a couple of weeks ago and washed up on a high tide."

Torridge Council could not say how much the removal of the whale would cost but Mr Marsh said it was likely to be "very expensive".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-39178001

It's a horrible, dangerous coast from Hartland Point southward. Not that a dead whale would have cared much...

 

[sherbetbizarre]

Indonesia - believed to be a Baleen whale.

Gigantic creature washes up in Indonesia - and no one knows what it is

A huge, dead creature has washed up on a beach in Indonesia – and so far, no one knows what it is.

The body was found on Hulung Beach on Serum Island on Tuesday night by local people – who initially thought it was a stranded boat.

The bloated 45-foot corpse is believed to have been dead for several days before washing up on the beach.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/gigantic-creature-washes-indonesia-no-one-knows-121652068.html

Edith Widder, CEO and senior scientist at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, said it was difficult to determine from images alone but that some photos show what looks like baleen plates.

“My guess is it’s a baleen whale,” she said.

George Leonard, chief scientist at Ocean Conservancy, said he initially thought the animal might be a giant squid, but agreed it was likely a whale after seeing images highlighting the bones and baleen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...donesia-island_us_5915e11ee4b0031e737d59ae?y1

I emailed the photos to Rob Deaville, project manager of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme with the Zoological Society of London, and asked him what was going on here. He told me this is "definitely the remains of a baleen whale."

Deaville pointed out that, from the images, you can sort of make out the whale's distinctive "throat pleats, adjacent to what may be a pectoral fin." It's also possible to see what looks to be vertebrae in some of the photos, "and squid don't have backbones."

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/indonesia-giant-squid-baleen-whale-monster-discovery

 

[sherbetbizarre]

Or...?

 

[GNC]

Well, you know what musicians are like...

 

[rynner2]

This whale is not actually beached, but it is clearly lost:
Humpback whale trapped in California harbour
Video: 52s.

A humpback whale has swum into a southern California harbour and is trapped.
Wildlife experts are trying to guide it back to the ocean by playing underwater sounds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-39989728/humpback-whale-trapped-in-california-harbour

 

[rynner2]

Whales die off coast of East Anglia

Three whales have died off the coast of East Anglia.
An area south of Felixstowe Pier in Suffolk has been sealed off after a 30ft (9m) female whale washed up on the beach there.

The first whale, a minke calf, was spotted on a mudbank in the River Ore, near Felixstowe, on Saturday afternoon.
Another dead adult whale was seen in the water off Harwich, Essex. Coastal volunteers believe they could be part of a much wider pod.

John Cresswell, from the Felixstowe Volunteer Coast Patrol Rescue Service, said it was normal for porpoises to wash up on the shore, but not whales.
"This is very sad," he said. "It is such a loss to the ocean life.
"They are such amazing mammals."

He said council officials were planning to call in a special company to dispose of the whale that washed up on the beach, after plans to tow it up the coast and "let nature take its course" were abandoned over fears the carcass could become a hazard.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-39991646

 

[rynner2]

Beached Felixstowe fin whale removed from beach
24 May 2017
Video: Contains disturbing scenes.

The carcass of a dead fin whale which washed up on the Suffolk coast four days ago has been removed.
The 30ft (9m) female at Felixstowe was one of three whales reported to have died on the East Anglian coast in recent days.
The operation took four hours and the waste will be taken to an abattoir for disposal.

A remaining cordon on a small section of the beach is due to be removed on Friday.

Suffolk Coastal District Council said because of how decomposed the whale's body has become it was disposed of in large bins.
It was then transported to an abattoir in Melton.
It is hoped the high tide will wash away anything that remains.

Council spokeswoman Fiona McConnachie said: "Situations like this don't happen very often. When they do, it's a very sad event."

She added: "We'd like to apologise for any inconvenience and would like thank the public for their cooperation throughout the process."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-40027223

 

[rynner2]

St Austell residents attempt to identify mysterious whale-like creature spotted near Porthpean
By Shannon_Hards | Posted: July 11, 2017

A 17ft whale-like creature spotted near Porthpean on the weekend has left locals baffled.
The dead mammal was discovered by a kayaker on Saturday (July 8).

Writing on Facebook, Linda Easy said: "Can anyone identify this dead creature found off Porthpean yesterday?
"It was at least 17ft long, as measured against my 17ft kayak. Had a long, thin 'beak', filled with small, sharp teeth.
"The beak was the same length as the head of my paddle.
"It was very long and streamlined, with a very slim tail (compared to a dolphin, for example, which is quite blunt). The flukes were large in relation to the slimness of the tail. It was pink and grey."

The experts at Cornwall Wildlife Trust have since identified the mammal.
A spokesman said: "Abby Crosby, our marine conservation officer has identified it as a Sowerby's beaked whale.
"Our marine strandings network were alerted on Sunday, volunteers are on the lookout and it hasn't re-stranded yet."

http://www.cornwalllive.com/st-aust...ar-porthpean/story-30433727-detail/story.html

Several photos on page.

 

[ramonmercado]

Tangled in fishing lines rather than beached but I think it best fits here. Also, the tragic death of a rescuer.

A Canadian man has been killed during a rescue operation after he cut an endangered whale free from tangled fishing lines.

Joe Howlett succeeded in rescuing the whale, only to be struck by it moments later as it flipped into the water.

He was a lobster fisherman by trade and a founder of the whale rescue group on Campobello Island, New Brunswick.

Friends told the Canadian Press he had saved some two dozen whales over 15 years.

Mackie Green, a friend of Mr Howlett who had founded the rescue team with him, said: "They got the whale totally disentangled and then some kind of freak thing happened and the whale made a big flip."

"Joe definitely would not want us to stop because of this," he added. "This is something he loved and there's no better feeling than getting a whale untangled, and I know how good he was feeling after cutting that whale clear."

The animal was a North Atlantic right whale - an endangered species that may grow to about 15m (50 feet) in length and weigh up to 70 tonnes.

The species is "critically endangered", with about 500 left alive, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Seven were found dead in Canada's Gulf of St Laurence in the last month - a significant blow to the global population. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40579766?ocid=socialflow_twitter

 

[ramonmercado]

Really tragic, about 150 whales die on beach.

Only six whales have survived a mass stranding of pilot whales on the coast of Western Australia.

About 150 of the animals were found beached at Hamelin Bay, about 300km (180 miles) south of Perth.

Their discovery by a local fisherman on Friday prompted a major rescue effort to return them to deeper waters.

However, by nightfall, more than 140 of the whales had died, with deteriorating weather conditions and the threat of frenzied sharks impeding efforts.

More than 100 volunteers, wildlife personnel and others came to the aid of the beached pilot whales, a species known to strand en masse.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43519439

 

[Bigphoot2]

Forgot to add this when it happened - especially as it wasn't too far from Bigphoot towers. I would have gone along but was laid low with a nasty cold at the time

https://www.scotsman.com/news/envir...sperm-whale-found-on-scottish-beach-1-4713004

 

[ramonmercado]

Not about beachings but nonetheless an interesting article,



https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science/talking-to-whales-180968698/

Not about beachings but nonetheless an interesting article,



https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science/talking-to-whales-180968698/

Maybe it would fit in: http://forum.forteantimes.com/index.php?threads/cetacean-culture.12747/

 

[FrKadash]

Maybe it would fit in: http://forum.forteantimes.com/index.php?threads/cetacean-culture.12747/

Ohh that's a better thread for it thanks ramon, (edit) Just realised something obvious, I can just delete the old post and repost in the more suitable thread to save mods the job of moving it.

 

[FrKadash]

Or...?

I remembered this fella's name straight away, Max Rebo! One of the figures I always wanted but never managed to find, along with Imperial Dignitary and the limited edition B'omarr Monk...

 

[ramonmercado]

Orcas living up to their killer moniker.

It is thought the pod of rare pygmy killer whales stranded on Ninety Mile Beach were driven ashore by orca - the giant species of killer whales.

Eight pygmy killer whales - in fact, a seldom seen oceanic dolphin which bears physical similarities to orca - are stranded on a 5-6 kilometre stretch of beach spanning Te Paki Stream mouth. They were first spotted at about 8.30pm yesterday. Two others have been found dead. This is the first reported stranding of the species in New Zealand's history.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12166161

 

[ramonmercado]

Not beached yet but things aren't looking good.

Experts say a whale spotted blowing water in Dublin Port is confused, stressed and will most likely die.

Teams are trying to figure out what type of whale it is, after it was first noticed by walkers at Sutton Beach on Tuesday. Since then, it has moved to between boats and ships at the mouth of the Liffey.

Dr Simon Berrow from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group says it is extremely rare for a whale to be in those waters.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...d-and-will-likely-die-experts-say-954654.html

 

[ramonmercado]

Sadly the whale has died.

A whale, which was spotted earlier this week in the River Liffey, was found dead this morning in Dublin Bay.

It has been identified as a fin whale, around 7.62m (25ft) long, and thought to be a juvenile.

It was found by Dublin Port workers earlier today close to where it was first spotted.

Mammal experts brought in by Dublin Port are now assessing the situation.

https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2019/1004/1081064-whale-dublin/

 

[ramonmercado]

Another tragic case.

A pregnant whale has been found dead and tangled in a fishing net in Orkney.

Scientists said the marine pollution, known as "ghost gear", was jammed in the animal's baleen, the filter-feeder system inside its mouth. The experts from the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) said the net would have "hugely impaired" the minke whale's feeding and movement. The animal, which was pregnant with a female calf, was found on the island of Sanday.

Orkney-based volunteers of SMASS, which is part of Scotland's Rural College, examined the whale and its dead calf.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49971798

 

[hunck]

Whale washes up at Clacton Essex.

Around 40ft long. Doesn't say what type of whale.

 

[Kondoru]

Respectable for the North sea?

Can I see ridges there? Some kind of Roqual??

 

[hunck]

Follow up to this:

It's a juvenile fin whale. 40' long but adults can reach 70'.

Sadly, the whale had been hit by a commercial ship whilst out at sea, the impact of which caused a bone to puncture the animal's lungs, which lead to its death.

 

[hunck]

Beached sperm whale in Australia shows scars from tussle with a giant squid

It's unknown how the whale actually died.

A huge [52-foot-long (16 meters)] dead whale rotting away on an island Down Under is attracting locals and even thieves [determined thieves have been using the cover of night to steal parts of the whale's jaw], but the rancid smell of its decomposing corpse is keeping many of them at bay.

The female whale's final resting place on the beach is difficult to reach with a machine or vehicle large enough to move the animal, so "the whale will be left in place and not removed," DELWP Gippsland wrote.

Just like another beached sperm whale he saw in the 1980s in Australia, this whale "had these sucker marks of up to about 10 centimeters [4 inches] diameter," Cleeland said, as reported by the Sentinel-Times. "These sperm whales dive down to a kilometer [0.6 miles] or more in depth to feed on the giant squids, but if they come up to a squid and the squid tries to defend itself by wrapping itself around the sperm whale, they finish up with these sucker marks — and that was apparent on this one at Forrest Caves."

However, it's unknown what actually killed the whale. "There's no obvious cause of death, so it may have simply reached the end of its natural life and washed in on its nearest beach here on Phillip Island," Cleeland said.

 

[ramonmercado]

Three dead whales on Donegal beach.

Locals have been left shocked after three whales were washed up on one of the country’s most scenic beaches.

Tra Mór in Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal was named in the top ten Irish beaches by the Lonely Planet guide this week. However, walkers were left stunned at the weekend when they came across the whales washed up on the beach. The three large carcasses are believed to be that of two adult and one juvenile Cuvier's beaked whales The three whales measure around 6ft, 10ft and 10ft, and two of them have scarring around their bodies.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40263299.html

 

[ramonmercado]

A sad tale

A baby orca found stranded in New Zealand has died, after a huge effort to reunite him with his mother failed.

The killer whale - named Toa - washed ashore near the capital Wellington 10 days ago, prompting a desperate search to find his family in nearby waters. Believed to be two to six months old and about 2.5m (8ft) long, the orphan could not survive alone in the ocean. His fate gripped the nation, with hundreds of people volunteering to help the nationwide search.

Toa - Maori for "warrior" - was separated from his pod and found by two teenagers in a rockpool in Plimmerton, north of Wellington.
Conservationists placed him in a makeshift pool, where he was fed via a special teat every four hours.

A fleet of aircraft and on-shore observers scoured hundreds of miles of coastline for Toa's pod in the hope his mother could be found. But Whale Rescue, an organisation that had been helping care for Toa, said his condition suddenly deteriorated on Friday. Vets rushed to help but were unable to save him.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57950919

 

[EnolaGaia]

An adult blue whale (the largest animal on earth) washed ashore at a Nova Scotia beach - more specifically at a rocky seashore section where access is constrained. Canadian officials are trying to figure out how to proceed with disposing of the giant carcass.

Massive endangered blue whale carcass washes onto popular N.S. beach

A carcass of one of the world's largest animals — the endangered blue whale — has washed ashore near a popular white sand beach in Nova Scotia.

The Marine Animal Response Society said the massive whale was first spotted by the Canadian Coast Guard on Wednesday evening floating off Sambro, N.S., a fishing community roughly 25 kilometres south of Halifax.

Andrew Reid, a response specialist with the society, said winds caused by Hurricane Larry then washed the whale onto nearby Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park in Sambro Creek, N.S., on Thursday morning. ...

Reid said the 30-metre mature female — roughly the length of two school buses — is situated on a rocky section of Crystal Crescent's third beach, approximately a kilometre trek by boardwalk from the park's entrance.

"Unfortunately it's up in an area among quite large rocks that are seaweed-covered and quite difficult to work around," Reid said on Friday.

Reid said members of the society performed a surface examination and did not see any obvious signs of human interaction, such as a boat strike or fishing gear. Samples were also collected for research purposes.

But because the carcass is surrounded by rough terrain, a necropsy to determine the cause of death will likely not be possible, he said. ...

Reid said given that a necropsy is unlikely and the whale is located in a provincial park, the provincial government will determine how to proceed. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova...angered-blue-whale-crystal-crescent-1.6170887

 

[maximus otter]

…officials are trying to figure out how to proceed with disposing of the giant carcass.

My question would be: Why? Nature will do the job, free of charge.

maximus otter

 

[EnolaGaia]

My question would be: Why? Nature will do the job, free of charge.

I suspect that's one of the options that's still on the table. They can't bring in heavy equipment to haul off the carcass (in any size chunks). It wouldn't surprise me much if they end up closing that area and allowing the carcass to rot in place.