52 feet fin whale found off the coast of Chile
Chile Whale News: A giant whale washed up on the coast of Chile’s capital Santiago. Its length was 52 feet, seeing which everyone was surprised. Officials said the cause of death was unclear after the whale’s carcass washed up on a beach in Santiago over the weekend. The young female whale was found Sunday at Mission C Beach and later taken out to sea, the Santiago Union-Tribune reported.
Fin whale is the second largest fish after the blue whale.
After the blue whale, the fin whale is considered the second largest whale in the world. They can grow to 70 to 80 feet (21 to 24 m) long and weigh about 50 tons or 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, these fin whales are an extinct species of fish and their number is about 8000 on the west coast.
52 feet fin whale found off the coast of Chile
Cause of death of fin whale unclear
Michael Milstein, a spokesman for NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, told the newspaper, this fin whale was not very old and its death was not a long time ago but a short time ago. Because no evidence of decomposition of the body has been found. However, the reason for how this fish died is not clear.
No evidence of fin whale attacks
Milstein said that in cases where whales are killed by ship strikes, there is often evidence of propeller marks and observers have not noticed anything like that. He said researchers collected tissue samples. Tissues will be examined to determine the cause of death.
52 feet fin whale found off the coast of Chile
Fin whale lives in deep water
A bulldozer, jet ski and boat worked together to move the whale from the sand down to the water as about 100 people watched. After the ropes broke several times, the whale was eventually beached. Lifeguards towed it about a mile and a half. Milstein said it’s not common to see fin whales stranded on the West Coast. This species lives in deeper waters than the gray whale, traveling 10,000 to 14,000 miles (16,000 to 22,500 kilometers) up and down the coast in annual migrations.
Latest World News