Whale stranded near Henties Bay, Namibia

14.11.13 Live sperm whale was stranded south of Henties Bay

yesterday. The mammal was about 7,5 metres long and weighed an estimated 25 tonnes. It was not known why it was stranded except for bloodstained waters in the region of the animal’s belly, which was on the ocean side. Any wounds were not visible to the eye. Marks on the whale’s side and back also indicated that it may have either been attacked by possible killer whales, or that it may have been struck by a boat propeller. Further speculation was also that it was a cow and may have been giving birth – hence the blood and the animal’s weakness – but that too could not be confirmed. Although the whale had been alive for several hours from the early morning till yesterday afternoon, chances of its survival were very small. In the beginning, the animal still attempted to use its fins and tail to struggle from its stranded position in the early morning, but its attempts became weaker as time went on. Heavy breathing that could be seen from the blowhole on top of the head indicated that the animal was exhausted. The conclusion was that nature would take its course and that the situation of the large animal made it nearly impossible to be moved into deeper waters. Whale strandings along Namibia’s coast occur once in a while. The stranding of a deep sea species like the sperm whale are, however, extremely rare in Namibia.