A North Atlantic right whale washed up on shore in Clam Harbour, N.S. last week and has been quickly decomposing. The right whale, believed to be a fully grown female, was one of only 450 in the world and is one of the most endangered whale species on earth.
A team of scientists have been tasked with understanding how the animal died and determining if the tangled mess of ropes found around its tail played a part.
“It’s an endangered species and whenever an incident like this happens, we try to get as much information as possible about the whale - and with rope on it - what the rope is,” says biologist Cathy Merriman of the department of fisheries and oceans.
The enormous mammals make the journey up the Atlantic coast every year, swimming under the threat of ships and fishing gear.
Kelsey Johnson was one of the first to discover the washed up whale last Thursday near her home in Clam Harbour.
“I’m happy it’s going,” says Johnson. “It was really cool at first, but now it’s gross because we can’t go swimming because of all the oils. Now it’s nasty.”
Excavators were brought in to help remove the whale’s rotting flesh from the beach.
“We’re fortunate because there’s not much left of the whale, but you can imagine that without heavy equipment it is literally next to impossible,” says wildlife pathologist Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust of the Atlantic Veterinary College.
The remaining flesh will be buried at the Halifax Regional Municipality’s Otter Lake Landfill and the bones will be studied by scientists.
Losing a right whale is a big loss, but there is a glimmer of hope for the species. Over the past decade, firms have shifted their shipping lanes to avoid where the whales feed and their numbers have gradually risen.
“It’s not about that sort of blame game,” says Tonya Wimmer of the Marine Animal Response Society. “It’s about‘let’s try to understand and stop it from happening again’.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Felicia Yap
