Zoologists in Valencia are investigating the death of a six-tonne fin whale that washed up near the shore earlier this week. The animal showed no signs of a collision with a vessel or being caught in a fishing net, leaving experts puzzled.
Guardia Civil agents patrolling the area spotted the whale in shallow waters on Monday morning. They said it was floating lifelessly towards the shore and deployed a boat to protect the animal from oncoming vessels.
Five hours later, the whale washed up on a beach in Cullera, a town about 30 miles south of Valencia. Police at the scene confirmed it was dead. Zoologists from the University of Valencia have been investigating the animal’s death and confirmed it was a fin whale, one of the most common species in the Mediterranean.
“It was female – most likely an adult,” Patricia Gozalbes from the University of Valencia said. “It showed no signs of a collision with a vessel or being caught in a net.” The whale’s advanced state of decomposition meant little more could be deciphered about its death, she added.
Lured by the large population of krill, fin whales often frequent the waters off the Valencian coast to feed, Gozalbes said. They tend to wash up onshore in the region at a rate of about one a year.
