Rare whale washes up in Eastern Cape
Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris).
Image by: NOAA Photo Library / Wikimedia commons
Image by: NOAA Photo Library / Wikimedia commons
A rare beaked whale has washed up on an Eastern Cape beach.
The whale was found on a beach in Chinta East last week.
Kevin Cole, of East London Museum, was quoted by the Dispatch Online as saying little was known of these whales and that there had been no authenticated sightings at sea in the region.
“Members of the public are thanked for reporting these valuable scientific finds... this could possibly be logged as a first for our area.” Beaked whales can weigh up to 1.5 tonnes and be up to 5.5 metres long.
“The whale has a well defined beak, a small triangular dorsal fin set well back from the snout and small flippers,” Cole said.
It was not clear what caused the whale to beach.
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