Dead blue whale cut open on Nova Scotia shore for research
Digital Reporter
Sunday, May 14, 2017, 10:52 AM - A group of scientists are surgically examining the carcass of a blue whale found along the shores of southeastern Nova Scotia.
The 18-metre long cetacean came aground in East Berlin, N.S. on May 2, but it was first spotted in mid-March off Port aux Basques, N.L.
(Note: Images below contain content that some readers may find graphic in nature. Reader discretion is advised.)
The whale had been dead for at least two months, CBC News reports. Scientists were able to identify it as the whale that appeared off the coast of Newfoundland by comparing the grooves in its throat, the news agency confirms.
The carcass (pictured above) belonged to a juvenile female blue whale. Credit: Marine Animal Response Society via CBC
Tonya Wimmer, director of the Marine Animal Response Society, told CBC that it's important to understand if the whale's cause of death is due to human impact; particularly so, because blue whales are an endangered species in Canada.
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"It's only been because people have looked at animals that have died that we've really even started to identify how often they're threatened by different things — whether it's shipping, whether it's fishing, pollutants, whatever," Wimmer told CBC. "Without doing investigations like this, we don't really have that true sense of how much of these animals are impacted by us."
Scientists conducting a necropsy on the carcass. Credit: Marine Animal Response Society via CBC
Wimmer added that the whale bears a "foul" scent, naturally, and is "a pretty horrific sight," CBC reports.
"Seeing them alive is one of the most magnificent things I think people can ever experience and hear," she said. "They're absolutely magnificent animals, so to see one lying on a beach that's dead … it's not the way you want to see them."
Marine Animal Response Society
On May 2nd, an endangered blue whale washed ashore East Berlin near Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Crews are onsite today to perform a necropsy on the 60ft juvenile to collect samples, skeletal remains and determine cause of death.
The carcass is estimated to weigh 50 to 60 tonnes. If the organs are still identifiable, CBC notes that researchers will examine the organs for signs of illness. The necropsy team will also look at the whale's stomach and esophagus for plastics and other harmful materials.
The weather is helping prevent a carcass explosion
The unsightly fate of a bloated whale post-mortem is not a cause for concern, Wimmer told CBC.
DON'T MISS: Do decaying whale carcasses explode? Read to find out.
While it's true that bloated whale carcasses, when punctured, can make for a messy situation, Wimmer says mild weather and the carcass's two-month drift in the icy North Atlantic ocean will prevent the whale's body from exploding.
The cold waters of the North Atlantic acted as "a sort of natural freezer," Wimmer said. Coupled with mild conditions, the internal pressure of the carcass hasn't built up to a worrisome level.
SOURCE: CBC
