Dead whale washes ashore
2nd in Charleston County, 9th along East Coast
Barbara Bergwerf
A whale is removed from the Isle of Palms beach Sunday morning with help from the city's employees.
Ken Bowman
A dead pygmy sperm whale washed up on the Isle of Palms on Sunday morning.
ISLE OF PALMS — A dead 11 1/2-foot pygmy sperm whale washed ashore early Sunday, the second to do so on a Charleston County beach and the ninth along the East Coast in the last two weeks.
A town employee first saw the whale rolling around in the surf around 6:30 a.m. while emptying trash cans along the beach, Mary Pringle, project leader for the Isle of Palms Turtle Team, said.
The whale was placed aboard a trailer and taken to a local federal marine lab for a necropsy that will be done Tuesday, Blair Mafe, southeast regional stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said.
Mafe said the pygmy sperm whale is the second most common species to wash ashore. The bottle-nosed dolphin is the first. There have been nine strandings from North Carolina to Florida in the past two weeks, including one in Folly Beach on Aug. 22.
"It's a little unusual to have this many in such a short time," Mafe said.
She said most of the strandings have been mother-calf pairs, but tests have shown few other consistencies. Scientists still are waiting on test results in most of the strandings in hopes of finding out more.
The most recent whale appears to have been an adult male. The size, weight and even the species will have to be confirmed after the Labor Day holiday, Mafe said.
Authorities discovered a 10-foot, 800-pound pygmy sperm whale little over a week ago on Folly Beach. A necropsy was inconclusive as to the cause of the animal's death. It was heavily "parasitized" and malnourished.
Marine biologist Wayne McFee said at the time that it's unusual to have this particular species strand locally.
Pygmy sperm whales are deep-water mammals typically found near the Gulf Stream. The whale feeds on squid and dives 3,200 feet or more for its prey.
Reach Andy Paras at 745-5891 or aparas@postand courier.com
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Comments
This article has 17 comment(s)
Posted by CharlestonJim on September 1, 2008 at 1:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Is there anyway to use the blubber for fuel? Lights and heaters ran on it before Dick Chenney invented crude oil in 1946. Maybe we can turn back the clock and use this "renewable" resource.
Posted by ajksmith on September 1, 2008 at 2:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is how they get rid of dead whales in Oregon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rf1Bn3Rg... Charlestonians are much more polite!
Posted by shoelaces on September 1, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe Thriller hit it...
Johnq2....were you joking???
It's a shame but probably nature doing what nature does. Survival of the fittest.
Posted by RTC on September 1, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Since I was a child I can remember whales washing up on our area beaches. Scientists have yet to actually determine the reasons why this happens. Some say it's disease, and others say that the whales' radar goes out of whack. Who knows?
If it had been hit by the prop of a ship the injuries would be quite apparent.
Posted by Perspective on September 1, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I call dibs on the whale!!! Let me know where I can pick it up.
Posted by ForPnC on September 1, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know much about whales. How they live or die. Could it be the Sonar Testing that the Navy has been doing? This was a main concern that was brushed off without a thought.
Posted by 512c on September 1, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Is this because the Navy Began testing high power sonar again?
Posted by ironhorse on September 1, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's not high power SONAR, its low frequency SONAR at question by environmental wackos. SONAR testing is vital to the nation's defense, it must continue and it did not cause this.
Posted by jammanofdi on September 1, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ironhorse - Are you certain that it didn't cause this because it's vital to the nation's defense? I mean, I think that the "environmental wackos" have proved a direct correlation between the sonar that the navy uses and beaching of whales. Keep in mind that I'm not an "environmental wacko", but I do have pretty good common sense and can see a connection when there is one definitely present. Our navy should find some other type of radar/frequency to keep this from happening on a much larger scale - as it has in the past.
Posted by jca on September 1, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
2nd one same type as the one a few weeks ago
something at sea is killing them
Posted by summerville_guy on September 1, 2008 at 6:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jca, I am going to let you in on a little secret: whales live (and die) at sea. If they didn't die in the sea, they would be immortal creatures.
Posted by MikeSafety on September 1, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Poor neofascist republicans. A whale died and they can't figure out how to use it to get rich.
Or for sushi.
And the DoD is infamous for violating environmental laws for no more reason than its a pain in the arse to be compliant.
Go to the old Naval Base and drink some of the ground water from the wells there if you don't believe me.
Posted by randym on September 1, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Notice how the bulldozer picked the whale up by the head. Now the head and ears are probably too damaged to see if sonar caused this.
Ironhorse- it's mid-frequency sonar and it's not vital for national security. The Navy ships give away their position everytime they use it.
Posted by Perspective on September 1, 2008 at 10:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
summerville guy - hahahahahahaahahahaha, nice
randym - You point out the bulldozer picked the whale up by the head probably damaging too much to see if sonar caused this. Did you point this out like they did it on purpose? If so, are you kidding? Do you think the smuck from Public Works gives a crap how the whale died? He is just the guy who didn't get out of cleaning up a dead whale.... ..ps..If you ever pick up a fish or a several hundred pound dead mammal shaped like a fish, I am sure you will find they are easier to pick up on the thicker end. Sort of like an icecream cone (a smelly one).
Posted by Peridot on September 2, 2008 at 5:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
One dead whale is nature, 9 dead whales in 2 weeks is very fishy............
Posted by number1volsfan1 on September 2, 2008 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Only liberals can excuse the intentional killing of an unborn child, and cry when a whale or child rapist is killed.
Posted by number1volsfan1 on September 2, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Only liberals can excuse the premeditated murder of an unborn child, and cry when a whale or child rapist is killed.