21 December 2009

Sperm whales: final destination


Between December 10th and 11th seven sperm whales stranded and died - on the northern coast of the Gargano Peninsula (Apulia, Italy). They were all sub-adult males.

After several meetings the experts decided what to do with the dead animals, but in the meantime the carcasses are still on the beach. Each animal will be cut into parts. Carcasses will then be buried and covered with ground and lime. The decomposition process is expected to complete in one year. At the end of this period the skeletons will be recovered, treated and displayed in museums.

Numerous hypotheses were made regarding the causes of the stranding, from plastic ingestion to seismic surveys, seaquakes, etc. But the fact is: the reasons are still unknown and the experts are working hard to find out.

Silvia Bonizzoni

3 comments:

Beatrice said...

Best wishes to the experts: it will probably be a hard work, but "we" are eagerly awaiting the results! Please let us know as soon as you can!

Abhadulla said...

its suicide U dont need "science" to know that beaching is the only way for the whale to kill itself

they are confused by the many bad vibes at present and are tormented what humans do to the seas, nuklear dumping, waste, sonars etc

be well!

Anonymous said...

why not sell the meat to whaling countries, and ask them not to whale this year?