Beaked whales are only poorly studied as they are generally characterized as skittish and highly elusive. Only four have been documented in the Maine waters during the last 20 years. Accordingly surprising was the stranding of two beaked whales in the Maine area within only a few weeks of each other.
The first, a 14-foot (4.3 meters) Blainville’s beaked whale, had been found deceased in York last month. A necropsy revealed that the female had recently given birth to a calf but could not identify any immediate cause of death.
The second, a 1,700 pound (770 kg) Sowerby’s beaked whale, got stuck in a mudflat in Phippsburg just a few weeks later. A team of the Bath-based Marine Mammals of Maine were able to refloat the female. However, it was later-on found deceased with no identifiable cause of death.
While little is known about the cryptic family with 22 subspecies, finding them “in a coastal area is an alarm”. “They should not have been here.” Beaked whales are deep-water cetaceans that thrive in deepwater canyons and continental slopes to feed on deep-diving fish and squid. The Blainville’s beaked whale is thought to prefer tropical or temperate waters, while the Sowerby’s beaked whale is more likely to be found in the deep cold North Atlantic.
The whales’ skeletons will be donated to the Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History “to help scientists better understand the mysterious creatures […] and help track evolutionary changes”.
The full report can be found here: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/07/16/two-species-of-rare-beaked-whales-beached-in-maine-within-weeks-of-each-other/
The Team of Marine Mammals of Maine tried to refloat the beaked whale in Phippsburg, but it was later-on found deceased with no identifiable cause of death
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