Current:Home > FinanceEndangered whale filmed swimming with beachgoers dies after stranding on sandbar -BrightFuture Investments
Endangered whale filmed swimming with beachgoers dies after stranding on sandbar
View
Date:2025-04-12 22:04:37
An endangered whale that was filmed swimming with beachgoers near a Western Australia beach died after becoming stuck on a sandbar, officials said.
The elderly sperm whale was first seen on Saturday afternoon, and it beached itself on Monday, according to the BBC. Swimmers were seen interacting with the whale until experts warned of the danger such actions could pose to both the whale and the people.
On Tuesday morning, officials from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said that the 30-ton whale had died at around 6:30 a.m. local time. Mark Cugley, a spokesperson for the department, told reporters that the whale swam a short distance that morning, but the whale's respiration "gave us some signs it really was coming to the end."
Cugley said it's still not clear why the whale approached shore, but said its "health was not good" and said it exhibited concerning behaviors, like swimming in tight circles. The whale did not have any injuries or obvious disease, but there will be a necropsy performed once the whale is removed from the ocean.
"We don't really know why, it is very unusual, and some of the behaviors we saw even when it was first reported Saturday afternoon, it wasn't well," Cugley said.
After the whale died, its carcass was moved to a "more secure location in the water, away from the beach," officials from Western Australia's Parks and Wildlife Service said in a statement on social media, and crews stayed in the area overnight to make sure that people and boats stayed away from the whale. Cugley said the whale will be removed from the water and transported to a landfill by crane.
There was a vigil on shore Tuesday afternoon, officials said, with an indigenous group holding what officials called a smoking ceremony to "pay respects to the cultural significance of this whale stranding." The ceremony included "sharing whale dreaming stories, song and dance."
Update 5:15pm - A smoking ceremony was held to pay respects to the cultural significance of this whale stranding on...
Posted by Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia on Tuesday, December 12, 2023
"We'd like to thank the traditional owners for sharing with us their knowledge and understanding of this event," parks and wildlife service officials said on social media.
Visitors to the beach are still being asked to stay out of the water. Cugley said that any prospective visitors to the area watch for potential beach closures or other disruptions as they work to remove the whale, in part to minimize shark risks, the BBC reported.
Though found in all deep oceans from the equator to the Arctic and Antarctic, sperm whales are endangered in Australia and most parts of the world. Whaling decimated sperm whale populations worldwide for centuries, but since a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, the species has started to recover, and its numbers are likely increasing, according to NOAA
- In:
- Oceans
- Australia
- Whales
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
TwitterveryGood! (31717)
Related
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Republican National Committee plans to soon consider declaring Trump the ‘presumptive 2024 nominee’
- Business Insider to lay off around 8% of employees in latest media job cuts
- Delaware governor proposes 8% growth in state operating budget despite softening revenue projections
- Small twin
- What you should know if you’re about to fly on a Boeing Max 9
- Crystal Hefner Details Traumatic and Emotionally Abusive Marriage to Hugh Hefner
- The top UN court is set to issue a preliminary ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- FTC launches inquiry into artificial intelligence deals such as Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership
Ranking
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Artist who performed nude in 2010 Marina Abramovic exhibition sues MoMA over sexual assault claims
- Alaska charter company pays $900,000 after guide likely caused wildfire by failing to properly extinguish campfire
- Senate immigration talks continue as divisions among Republicans threaten to sink deal
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- He killed 8 coyotes defending his sheep. Meet Casper, 'People's Choice Pup' winner.
- Justin Timberlake says album is coming in March, drops 'Selfish' music video: Watch
- A Missouri nursing home shut down suddenly. A new report offers insight into the ensuing confusion
Recommendation
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Truly's new hot wing-flavored seltzer combines finger food and alcohol all in one can
Wisconsin Assembly approves a bill mandating a limit on the wolf population, sends proposal to Evers
NYC dancer dies after eating recalled, mislabeled cookies from Stew Leonard's grocery store
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Truly's new hot wing-flavored seltzer combines finger food and alcohol all in one can
A portrait of America's young adults: More debt burdened and financially dependent on their parents
Senate deal on border and Ukraine at risk of collapse as Trump pushes stronger measures