Samples taken from stranded whales

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Beaked whales are "the real unknown monsters of the deep", because so little is known about them.

This is according to Dr Greg Hofmeyr, the curator of the marine mammal collection at Gqeberha's Bayworld. He is a marine mammal biologist.

He arrived in Hartenbos on Tuesday to examine and collect samples from the beaked whale and the calf that stranded on Hartenbos Beach on Monday afternoon.

Hofmeyr told Mossel Bay Advertiser that, depending on who you speak to, there are 23 or 24 different species of beaked whales.

He said these creatures are deep divers and avoid coastal areas and most of what is known about beaked whales comes from ones that have stranded and not been observed in the wild.

Rare
He said even strandings of beaked whales are rare.

Hofmeyr spent the entire afternoon and much of the evening on Tuesday, collecting samples from the whale and the calf, with the help of members of the Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.) and Oceans Research, a marine and terrestrial research and conservation organisation, based in Mossel Bay.

Magda Maritz and Val Marsh from S.M.A.R.T. measure the calf carcass. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse

Hofmeyr inspected the outside of the whale and the calf, as well as the inside, in an effort to determine why the two stranded and to collect as much data as possible.

"The female adult measured 4.44 metres long. She was lactating, so she had a dependent calf. It is quite possible the calf that stranded with her was hers.

"Both looked to be in good condition and did not have any obvious injuries externally or illnesses internally," he said.

"We have no idea why they stranded. There may well have been an underlying illness. We have taken pathology samples, but the state of decay on both carcasses means we might not get any good results.

Offshore species
"It is also possible that, because they are an offshore species, when they come close to the shore, they become confused and disoriented. They may not be used to navigating inshore, if it is a strange environment to them," he said.

Hofmeyr noted he is still trying to figure out which species of beaked whale the two are. He said the skull shape suggests it may be a Ramari's beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu) but that a proper examination of the skull can only be conducted once it has been fully cleaned, which will take months.

The Ramari's beaked whale was only recently identified as a new species, in 2021, following the extensive analysis of a pregnant beaked whale that stranded on a New Zealand beach in 2011 and examination of other specimens from the southern hemisphere, including a number at Bayworld.

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