A pygmy sperm whale was euthanased shortly after beaching itself at the popular Surfers Corner in Muizenberg on Saturday.
|||A pygmy sperm whale was euthanased shortly after beaching itself at the popular Surfers Corner in Muizenberg on Saturday.
The whale was spotted just after 8am, according to Disaster Risk Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.
The 2.5m adult whale appeared to have smashed against the rocks before ending up on the beach, badly cut and bruised.
Attempts by officials and members of the public to return the whale to the sea failed.
It was euthanased on the scene with a device which Solomons-Johannes said was usually used for stunning, prior to slaughter.
“The creature was extremely weak when the decision was taken,” said a department official on the scene.
“There could be several reasons why it decided to crash itself on to the rocks, but we won’t have anything definitive until we have done an autopsy.
“A possible explanation is that the creature may have been suffering from a disease, or have had internal parasites. Often a large amount of parasites are found in the corpses of beached whales. It is thought that they beach themselves to stop long-term suffering, or possibly to protect others from infection,” he explained.
There was
no evidence that the whale was driven on to the rocks by a predator.
The carcass was moved to the department’s research facility in Paarden Island for further research.
An onlooker said it was sad to see “such a magnificent and majestic creature” die.
Meanwhile, NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said they were later called to nearby St James beach where onlookers said they had seen another pygmy whale wash on to some rocks.
But a wave washed it back into the sea and it was not seen again.
kowthar.solomons@inl.co.za
Weekend Argus