Sandrina RodriguesTwo cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) were stranded on the coast of the municipality of Madalena, Pico island, last Mardi Gras. There were two females, mother and daughter.
Unfortunately, the adult whale was dead, but the smaller one was fine and was saved by the competent authorities and volunteers, as shown in the video.
The adult was 6.26 m long and weighed 2,520 kg. The causes of death have not yet been determined, and apparently, the animal was in good health, with no injuries. Biological samples were taken from some tissue to study genetics.
The smaller whale measured 3.34 m, which indicates that it may be less than a year old. It is possible that this whale will be able to survive, and be able to make deep dives to feed. We hope that nature surprises us, and we want to believe that the little whale will continue its journey and that it will survive. Who knows, maybe we will see it again off the islands of the Azores. But there is one thing that we can all do for the well-being of this whale and all the marine animals in the world: keep the oceans clean.
Despite the fact that we don’t know a lot about this species, a common thing is to appear only the mother and calf. The cuvier’s beaked whale can grow up to 7 meters, and reach 3 tons.
The fact that it is a species that spends most of its life in the depths of the sea (there is a record of 3h42m without coming to the surface to breathe), and has few interactions with humans, this event turned out to be an excellent opportunity to learn more about this species of whales. We continue with even more enthusiasm to investigate and share knowledge.
Learn more about rescuing marine mammals.
The Azores Cetacean Stranding Network (RACA- Rede de Arrojamentos de Cetáceos dos Açores) is an entity created to minimize the impacts of whale stranding and the suffering of alive stranded animals, whose goals are to achieve scientific and educational benefits.
According to the Regional Directorate for the Sea, since the 1990s, RACA has already registered around 600 strandings of large, medium and small marine animals.
Other entities were also present in the rescue operation: Pico Island Natural Park, Madalena City Council, Madalena Volunteer Firefighters, National Maritime Authority, Maritime Tourism Company CW Azores and IMAR-Açores / University of the Azores.
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
