Mysterious and Rare Whale Found Dead on British Beach: A Heartbreaking Discovery

Last Saturday, a sad spectacle awaited walkers at Smallmouth Beach, in Weymouth, England. A Sowerby beaked whale, more precisely a small male measuring 3.5 meters, lived its last moments on the sand. This is an unexpected phenomenon, especially since the cetacean is not used to coastal waters.

A discreet specimen from the seabed

Informed by a witness, the National Sailing Academy of Weymouth and Portland commissioned British Divers Marine Life Rescue to recover the body so that it could be identified. And the researchers at London Zoo are categorical: it is indeed a Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens).

The species is little known to science because it is complex to observe, according to the Sea Watch Foundation. Cetaceans are said to be “rarely observed at sea”, since they are difficult to spot. They rarely come to the surface, and are small compared to other species of whales, around 5 meters.

Sowerby's beaked whale navigates the North Atlantic Ocean, and particularly frequents the seabed, at a depth of more than 500 meters. Generally, it is more visible around the Scottish and Irish banks.

The conditions “worrying” of Sowerby’s beaked whale

In May 2019, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (Cosepac) released a report attesting that the whale is “at risk in Canadian waters”. A status which does not evolve, since the organization had already judged its situation “worrying” in 1989, then in 2006.

As the animal is rarely observed, it is relatively difficult to establish a precise observation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has attempted to measure the impact of threats on the species, despite the lack of information about it. According to this calculation, the rate would be “high to medium”, reflecting existing distress.

IUCN scientists believe that this endangerment is due to human activities: “Sowerby's beaked whale is vulnerable to noise pollution, interactions with fisheries and collisions with boats, as well as ingestion of macroplastics and microplastics and the same persistent organic pollutants as othervery cetaceans”, we can read in the Cosepac report.

Why did the whale run aground?

The cause of stranding and death is uncertain. According to initial findings, the whale died of starvation, due to lack of food near the coast. But what brought her here? Did she get lost looking for something to eat? Or has the noise pollution disoriented her? The limited information does not allow a clear diagnosis at this time.

Cosewic said Sowerby's beaked whales, most of the time, are discovered too late after stranding, leaving no opportunity for further study. The potential threats they face are inferred from the fact that other cetaceans also suffer from them.

Although we rarely see these whales, numerous strandings have been noted, particularly on the coasts of Great Britain. The Sea Watch Foundation has recorded around a hundred since 1913. In France, two cetaceans of this species ran aground at the end of September. What is believed to be a mother and her baby died on a beach in The Hague.