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Christmas Bells - Blandfordia nobilis
Showing posts with label Whale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whale. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Bryde's Whale dead on the beach at Shoalhaven Heads

There is no way to say this gently - this Whale, a Bryde's Whale died some hours after being found, beached, at Shoalhaven Heads, near Nowra. 

It was found after noon on Sunday 26 December, and died early on Monday morning, after attempts to rescue it failed. The Whale was measured at 12.2 metres long, and estimated to weigh about 20 tonnes (I would think that is an overestimation). This species of Whale is slightly longer, but less heavy than, the more familiar Hump-Backed Whale,


Another Bryde's Whale was found washed up on a beach at Iluka (Northern Rivers area of NSW) last Friday. That story includes a good image of that Whale.


Today Kirsten and I decided to go and see for ourselves the remains of this creature.
Brydes's Whale at Shoalhaven Heads
The Whale was found lying belly down, on Sunday. But at some stage it has rolled or been rolled by the waves, so it is now lying on its back, with the belly exposed and the ribbed skin of the throat clearly visible.
Ribbed throat of the Bryde's Whale.
Eye socket of the Bryde's Whale
The animal is lying on its side, virtually upside down. The heavily ribbed throat markings are just starting - in front of the eye. The pink flesh is recent damage to the surface of the skin.
Lower abdomen and flanks of the whale

The skin on the lower flanks has many marks of parasites on it. The fresh scratch marks are injuries incurred by the Whale before it died.
There are many strange patterned marks along the flanks. (Click to enlarge).
Small fin of the Bryde's Whale.
We walked from the car park at Shoalhaven Heads, right to the southern end of the beach - a  distance of some 5 Kms, according to Google's Satellite View. We enjoyed watching two Sea Eagles circling above us, on the way back.


There was a steady stream of people walking to and from the tip of the beach. Two young Beach Patrol officers declined our requests for a lift in their 4WD Beach Buggy.


My legs ache from the unfamiliar amount of exercise.

 ******
Post-script: Here how to NOT dispose of a whale carcase. An example from the USA.
http://stuff.ubersite.com/1138132736403319870/1/whale-mid.mov
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