Post by theshee on Jan 15, 2014 8:40:28 GMT 10
Whales wash up at Farewell Spit, New Zealand
Thirteen pilot whales have washed up on one of the world's greatest "whale traps".
The Department of Conservation (DOC) says the whales are stranded near the base of Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island.
It says the rest of the pod of about 50 whales is just offshore and there is a risk some of those whales may also become stranded.
DOC says it was alerted to the stranding this morning.
Marine mammal charity Project Jonah is in the process of contacting rescue volunteers in the area.
Volunteers will work to keep the whales alive until they can attempt to refloat them at the next high tide tonight.
DOC says it will not be able to attempt to refloat the stranded whales until about 8pm due to tides and will only have about an hour to attempt to refloat them before night falls.
Hundreds of whales have been caught out in the area over the years. There was a massive operation to refloat a large pod two years ago.
Project Jonah chief executive Kimberley Muncaster said at the time of the stranding in 2012 that Golden Bay is one of New Zealand's most notorious whale stranding areas.
"It's a whale trap. We've got a long finger of sand that literally juts right out," she said.
Earlier this month, 39 long-finned pilot whales could neither escape by themselves or be rescued at Farewell Spit.
The whales were shot to prevent further suffering. link
A sperm whale stranded on Anthony's beach near Stanley, Tasmania
Tasmanian scientists are excited about the number of giant squid beaks found inside a huge sperm whale which beached in the state's north-west.
The 17-metre whale washed up on Anthony's Beach between Smithton and Stanley on Saturday.
Scientists from the Marine Conservation Program examined the carcass on Sunday and believe the mammal died of old age.
Spokesman says the whale's large teeth will be studied to determine its age.
"We think he will probably be between 70 to 80," he said.
The whale was in very good condition and its stomach contained many local species including a large number of giant squid beaks.
"Sperm whales are famous for battling with the giant squid and we've seen lots of evidence of those battles.
link
Sperm whale found dead on Boca Raton beach, Florida
Officials are investigating the death of a young sperm whale after discovering the dead animal on a South Florida Beach, Friday morning.
According to officials, the 30-foot female whale was found ashore, just south of Lifeguard Post 18, at Spanish River Park in Boca Raton at around 9 a.m.
The whale was found following reports of a shark feeding frenzy about a mile off shore. However, officials said, the whale was beached within an hour-and-a-half, due to strong wind currents. They also said the animal was partially decomposed, leading officials to believe it may have been dead for a while. "Sharks were already kind of around it, but because of the strong winds coming from the southeast here that hour-and-a-half it came from about a mile and washed up here in the shore," said Boca Raton Police spokesperson Mark Economou.
Once the whale was ashore, experts noticed it had been decomposing and might have been dead for up to five days. "We're all going to work together to find out why this animal died and use that information to help them as much as we can in the future," said NOAA standing coordinator Elizabeth Stratton.
The part of the beach where this occurred had been closed prior to the discovery of the whale due to dangerous rip currents. However, that did not keep people from coming to observe the beached whale. "It's terrible, it really is," said resident Dennis Forgione. "It's a shame to see this happen, but I still had to see it. I had to come down and see what was going on. I live nearby here, and I heard about it."
Another resident, Kristy Breslaw, said, "That's crazy I've lived here for 12 years. I've never seen anything like that."
One young spectator was not pleased to see the dead animal ashore. "I thought it was disgusting," said 6-year-old Dylan Codacovi as he stood next to his friend. "Me and him thought a shark bit him. I don't know if it was a great white, a hammerhead, a thresher, a blue shark or a tiger," he said.
"My friend posted it on Facebook, of course," said swimmer Kristy Breslaw. "We are athletes, so we swim a lot, and she was warning us, the club, to stay out of the water."
Biologists at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration will examine the whale to determine a cause of death.
Sperm whales have been recorded to grow up to 70-feet in length.
Officials warn the public if they do go out to see the whale, not to touch the animal because it is illegal. link
Sperm whale body stuns, draws crowd in Uruguay
Authorities in Uruguay on Sunday recovered the body of a 16-meter sperm whale, normally at home in deep waters, after it beached near the capital.
Using a crane, the authorities moved the animal from the shallow waters onto the beach off Carrasco, an upscale town just next to Montevideo.
"The body will remain on the beach until Monday," said navy spokesman Gaston Jaunsolo.
Traffic tied up in the area as curious locals stopped to watch and catch a glimpse of the unusual sight.
"I don't ever recall another sighting of a sperm whale here; they are from very deep waters," Rodrigo Garcia, from the whale protection organization, said of the adult male that apparently beached on Saturday.
Authorities were expected to investigate the cause of death.
Garcia said that the animal did not appear to have any apparent external injuries, and that like dolphins they are highly sensitive to soundlink
Dead sperm whale washes up on Edinburgh beach, Scotland
The dead body of a huge sperm whale has washed up on a beach near Edinburgh - capturing the attention of the local public.
Pictures showed the young whale in shallow waters off Portobello beach on the outskirts of the Scottish capital. Scottish Animal Welfare (SAW) had been called in the early hours of this morning to the beach near the Rockville hotel in Joppa.
'On arrival it was clear life was extinct, so there was no need to mount a rescue operation,' explained SAW Chief Superintendent David Drummond.
A marine biologist is expected to take samples of the the sperm whale, which is usually found out in deeper waters of the Atlantic, before it is either pushed out to sea or removed from the water.
'It looks like it's a sperm whale, probably not an adult, and it's been here since at least 7.30 this morning,' explained Sarah Dolman, a manager of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation society.
'I can't see the length of it because it's mostly submerged. They can grow up to 15 metres, but I would say this one is not that big. I'm pretty sure it's dead, it's lying on it's side and the blow hole is completely submerged,' she told The Mirror.
Edinburgh's city council will be responsible for dealing with the carcass. link
Thirteen pilot whales have washed up on one of the world's greatest "whale traps".
The Department of Conservation (DOC) says the whales are stranded near the base of Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island.
It says the rest of the pod of about 50 whales is just offshore and there is a risk some of those whales may also become stranded.
DOC says it was alerted to the stranding this morning.
Marine mammal charity Project Jonah is in the process of contacting rescue volunteers in the area.
Volunteers will work to keep the whales alive until they can attempt to refloat them at the next high tide tonight.
DOC says it will not be able to attempt to refloat the stranded whales until about 8pm due to tides and will only have about an hour to attempt to refloat them before night falls.
Hundreds of whales have been caught out in the area over the years. There was a massive operation to refloat a large pod two years ago.
Project Jonah chief executive Kimberley Muncaster said at the time of the stranding in 2012 that Golden Bay is one of New Zealand's most notorious whale stranding areas.
"It's a whale trap. We've got a long finger of sand that literally juts right out," she said.
Earlier this month, 39 long-finned pilot whales could neither escape by themselves or be rescued at Farewell Spit.
The whales were shot to prevent further suffering. link
A sperm whale stranded on Anthony's beach near Stanley, Tasmania
Tasmanian scientists are excited about the number of giant squid beaks found inside a huge sperm whale which beached in the state's north-west.
The 17-metre whale washed up on Anthony's Beach between Smithton and Stanley on Saturday.
Scientists from the Marine Conservation Program examined the carcass on Sunday and believe the mammal died of old age.
Spokesman says the whale's large teeth will be studied to determine its age.
"We think he will probably be between 70 to 80," he said.
The whale was in very good condition and its stomach contained many local species including a large number of giant squid beaks.
"Sperm whales are famous for battling with the giant squid and we've seen lots of evidence of those battles.
link
Sperm whale found dead on Boca Raton beach, Florida
Officials are investigating the death of a young sperm whale after discovering the dead animal on a South Florida Beach, Friday morning.
According to officials, the 30-foot female whale was found ashore, just south of Lifeguard Post 18, at Spanish River Park in Boca Raton at around 9 a.m.
The whale was found following reports of a shark feeding frenzy about a mile off shore. However, officials said, the whale was beached within an hour-and-a-half, due to strong wind currents. They also said the animal was partially decomposed, leading officials to believe it may have been dead for a while. "Sharks were already kind of around it, but because of the strong winds coming from the southeast here that hour-and-a-half it came from about a mile and washed up here in the shore," said Boca Raton Police spokesperson Mark Economou.
Once the whale was ashore, experts noticed it had been decomposing and might have been dead for up to five days. "We're all going to work together to find out why this animal died and use that information to help them as much as we can in the future," said NOAA standing coordinator Elizabeth Stratton.
The part of the beach where this occurred had been closed prior to the discovery of the whale due to dangerous rip currents. However, that did not keep people from coming to observe the beached whale. "It's terrible, it really is," said resident Dennis Forgione. "It's a shame to see this happen, but I still had to see it. I had to come down and see what was going on. I live nearby here, and I heard about it."
Another resident, Kristy Breslaw, said, "That's crazy I've lived here for 12 years. I've never seen anything like that."
One young spectator was not pleased to see the dead animal ashore. "I thought it was disgusting," said 6-year-old Dylan Codacovi as he stood next to his friend. "Me and him thought a shark bit him. I don't know if it was a great white, a hammerhead, a thresher, a blue shark or a tiger," he said.
"My friend posted it on Facebook, of course," said swimmer Kristy Breslaw. "We are athletes, so we swim a lot, and she was warning us, the club, to stay out of the water."
Biologists at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration will examine the whale to determine a cause of death.
Sperm whales have been recorded to grow up to 70-feet in length.
Officials warn the public if they do go out to see the whale, not to touch the animal because it is illegal. link
Sperm whale body stuns, draws crowd in Uruguay
Authorities in Uruguay on Sunday recovered the body of a 16-meter sperm whale, normally at home in deep waters, after it beached near the capital.
Using a crane, the authorities moved the animal from the shallow waters onto the beach off Carrasco, an upscale town just next to Montevideo.
"The body will remain on the beach until Monday," said navy spokesman Gaston Jaunsolo.
Traffic tied up in the area as curious locals stopped to watch and catch a glimpse of the unusual sight.
"I don't ever recall another sighting of a sperm whale here; they are from very deep waters," Rodrigo Garcia, from the whale protection organization, said of the adult male that apparently beached on Saturday.
Authorities were expected to investigate the cause of death.
Garcia said that the animal did not appear to have any apparent external injuries, and that like dolphins they are highly sensitive to soundlink
Dead sperm whale washes up on Edinburgh beach, Scotland
The dead body of a huge sperm whale has washed up on a beach near Edinburgh - capturing the attention of the local public.
Pictures showed the young whale in shallow waters off Portobello beach on the outskirts of the Scottish capital. Scottish Animal Welfare (SAW) had been called in the early hours of this morning to the beach near the Rockville hotel in Joppa.
'On arrival it was clear life was extinct, so there was no need to mount a rescue operation,' explained SAW Chief Superintendent David Drummond.
A marine biologist is expected to take samples of the the sperm whale, which is usually found out in deeper waters of the Atlantic, before it is either pushed out to sea or removed from the water.
'It looks like it's a sperm whale, probably not an adult, and it's been here since at least 7.30 this morning,' explained Sarah Dolman, a manager of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation society.
'I can't see the length of it because it's mostly submerged. They can grow up to 15 metres, but I would say this one is not that big. I'm pretty sure it's dead, it's lying on it's side and the blow hole is completely submerged,' she told The Mirror.
Edinburgh's city council will be responsible for dealing with the carcass. link