Endangered Sperm Whale Carcass with Large Gashes Found in Oregon Shores, Officials Say Starving Before Death

An endangered sperm whale's carcass was discovered in Oregon. The animal starved to death, according to officials, and the body was covered in large gashes.

According to an aquarium, a severely hurt whale's body washed up on shore in Oregon. According to a Facebook post from Seaside Aquarium, the male sperm whale was discovered on Saturday, January 14, in Fort Stevens State Park, just south of the shipwrecked Peter Iredale. According to the aquarium, the whale had been dead for some time before washing up on shore.

Full Grown, Starving, and Hit

The whale is considered as fully grown based on its length of about 40 feet, according to Michael Milstein, a NOAA Fisheries spokesperson, in an email to McClatchy News.

According to Milstein, it is roughly the size of an adult sperm whale.

Robert Pitman, an Oregon State University marine ecologist at the Marine Mammal Institute, told The Oregonian that the whale appeared underweight, indicating that it was having trouble eating.

The whale may have been hit by a big ship, according to the aquarium, but it's not clear if the strike happened before or after the whale passed away. A necropsy will be performed, according to the aquarium, to examine the whale's cause of death in greater detail.

One of the questions the team is interested in is why a sperm whale would be here at this time of year, according to Milstein, who spoke to KPTV.

Since 2019, The Oregonian has documented 16 more whales that have been beached on the Oregon coast. Those have all, however, been gray whales.

Do Not Touch

A video taken inside the aquarium shows the enormous carcass lying on the sand while onlookers take pictures.

The US Coast Guard tweeted that people should stay at least 200 feet away from the beached sperm whale for both their safety and the whale's.

The aquarium reminded visitors to remember to observe but refrain from touching the animals, warning that doing so could result in the transmission of diseases to people and other animals.

The aquarium claimed that it worked with Oregon State Parks to remove the whale's lower jaw so that the teeth could be studied, especially since the sperm whale is the largest toothed whale in the world.

Sperm Whales

The aquarium states that male sperm whales can reach lengths of 60 feet and weights of more than 40 tons when fully grown. According to the aquarium, male sperm whales reach sexual maturity at around age 50 and grow to a length of about 52 feet. Their life span can reach up to 60 years.

According to The Oregonian, climate change, oil spills, fishing gear, noise, contaminants, and vessel strikes are among the threats facing sperm whales.

They eat fish, skates, squid, sharks, and other deep-water species as food. Sperm whales are still in danger, although their population is increasing, according to the aquarium.

About 100 miles to the northwest of Portland is Fort Stevens State Park, The Sacramento Bee reports.