Over the weekend, a 15-metre-long (47-foot) fin whale washed ashore near Anchorage on the coast of Alaska.
The whale’s huge carcass, lying on its side with its mouth wide open, quickly drew crowds of curious onlookers, and an investigation into the cause of its death got underway.
By Monday morning, dozens of people had braved the frigid temperatures to see the frost-covered remains, which rested on the frozen mudflats near Westchester Lagoon.
“Everyone’s real curious,” said one local.
Some visitors even ventured inside the whale’s mouth for photos, prompting authorities to issue safety warnings; in certain conditions, whale carcasses can explode.
According to experts, fin whales – listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act – aren’t usually seen this close to Anchorage. So, how did it get there? One explanation for the stranding could be that recent high tides pushed the whale further into the Knik Arm, a waterway in the Gulf of Alaska, but this is only a theory.
Cause of death?
The absence of gashes or marks from fishing nets indicates the death was not caused by human activity, say experts.
To find out more, biologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) secured the carcass to prevent it from drifting away. They then took samples for analysis to try and find out how the whale died – perhaps harmful algal blooms or diseases from the surrounding marine environment are to blame?
But the results revealed no obvious cause of death.
The team say the carcass will probably wash back into the sea during the next high tide over 10m (30 feet), and with it the mystery of how this great animal died will live on.
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