32-Foot Juvenile Humpback Whale Found Dead off the Coast of Virginia; Why Do Baleens Beach Themselves?

A young whale was stranded on a beach in Virginia. Unfortunately, the locals could not help it as it was already dead.

Dead Humpback Whale Found in Virginia

The sighting sparked questions about the cause of death of the young humpback whale discovered off the coast of Virginia on Sunday. The discovery also prompted the officers to investigate the matter.

Beachgoers spotted the massive marine creature around three miles offshore on Sunday morning, and the region's stranding response was alerted to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

Chesapeake resident Sharif Young was among those who saw the dead whale. He was going to the Oceanfront to surf his longboard when he saw the crowd and noticed a "wavy" pattern, making him wonder if the creature was a whale. It didn't take long for him to confirm that it was a baleen.

Heavy machinery was sent to the beach by Virginia Aquarium's Stranding Response to extract the enormous whale from the water and drag its corpse onto the sand.

The whale was male and could have been four or ten years old. Since then, teams have extracted the whale from the sea, and on Monday, they plan to conduct a necropsy during which the whale will be dissected from the mouth to the tail, and samples will be examined.

While the cause of the deceased whale remains unknown, other possible causes include vessel strikes and tangles in fishing nets. Yet, some residents hold offshore wind businesses accountable.

The Mid-Atlantic Whale Monitoring Project posted the news of the deceased whale on Facebook, adding that on Feb. 15 and 18, the group had seen the animal alive. The project then released pictures of the young mammal, stating that he seemed to have a strange skin ailment.

It is unknown if the skin ailment played a part in its demise.

Why Do Whales Beach Themselves?

There is no specific reason, species, or geographic area associated with whale beachings, as this incident could happen anywhere in the world. In July 2019, there was a huge beaching of short-finned pilot whales at Florida's Redington Beach. About 30 miles south of Perth, Australia, another enormous sperm whale washed up on the beach. Although the cause of whale beachings is unknown, there are theories about why these aquatic animals do it.

The phenomenon of dolphins and whales stranding themselves on beaches is known as cetacean stranding or beaching. Approximately 2,000 animals become stranded globally every year, most of which end in the animal's death. Because beaches are so few, no species is seriously threatened by them.

A single living animal washing up on the beach is typically the result of illness or trauma. Beachings are also caused by poor weather, aging, mishaps with navigation, and hunting too near the coast.

Mass beachings are more common among some whale and dolphin species. The most often impacted species are toothed whales (Odontoceti). Porpoises, dolphins, and whales possessing teeth are classified as toothed whales.

These cetaceans tend to live in big groups with complex social structures. When one group member becomes ill or has an emergency, the remaining members may follow that member to the shore, leading to a mass stranding.

Sometimes, orcas deliberately beach themselves to search for seals near the shore. To aid them return to the sea, they then wait for waves. This behavior is most frequently seen in pods in the Argentine region; it is thought that the elder orcas in the pod teach the younger orcas this habit. It is quite rare for orcas to beach inadvertently.

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