The nation’s
eyes turned to Holkham this October thanks to the arrival of a dead Fin Whale. Washing up on Holkham beach on 20th
October it made quite the impression. The following day staff from the Cetacean Stranding
Investigation Programme (CSIP) arrived and performed a thorough investigation
of the whale.
Fin Whales
are an endangered species and not usually seen in the North Sea preferring the
deep water of the Atlantic. Occasionally however they do appear on the British
coast, in fact this is the fourth Fin Whale stranding CSIP had attended this
year. Fin Whales are the second largest mammal on earth and also the fastest
swimmers (up to 15mph!). They are a baleen whale meaning they are essentially
filter feeders straining food through the hairy plates on its upper jaw. Fin Whales
are noticeably unique thanks to the lower
right jaw being bright white and the lower left jaw being black. This is
thought to be used to frighten
its prey into dense groups making them easier to catch. The whale that washed up
at Holkham was only 13m long making it a juvenile. They can grow up to 26m as
an adult!
After a day of slicing the
CSIPs staff carefully removed samples from the internal organs, bone, baleen
plates and eye ball as well as a noticeable ‘hump’ just above the tail stock.
The post mortem indicated that the hump had a spinal abnormally caused by a
boat strike. This injury limited its ability to swim impeding its ability to
dive and feed leading to ill heath resulting in a parasite infestation and
eventual starvation.
This tragic turn of events
was a sad end to such a rare and striking whale. Especially as the Fin Whale
population has declined dramatically due to whaling, pollution and habitat destruction.
This individual will be sorely missed as the population continues to fight for
survival.
The autopsy lasted till dusk.