Scientists suspect that the first complete specimen of the world's rarest whale ever recorded died from a head injury, experts announced Friday.
The first necropsy of a spade-toothed whale, a type of beaked whale, was completed last week after careful examination at a research center near the New Zealand city of Dunedin, said Te Runanga Otakou, a local resident who led the scientific team. . This was said in a statement released by the New Zealand Ministry of Conservation.
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In July, an almost perfectly preserved 5-metre (16-foot) male was found washed up on the shores of the South Island. This was the first complete specimen ever recorded. There have only been seven known sightings and no live Spade whales have ever been sighted.
Anton van Heerden, a beaked whale expert with the New Zealand Conservation Agency, said the whale's jaw was broken and there were bruises on its head and neck, leading scientists to suspect head trauma was the cause of the whale's death. He said he thinks there is.
In this photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, rangers inspect what is believed to be a rare spade whale after it was found washed up on a beach near Otago, New Zealand, on July 5, 2024. (Department of Conservation via AP)
“We don't know, but we suspect that there was some kind of trauma, but we may never know what caused it,” van Heerden said in a statement.
All species of beaked whales have different stomach systems, and researchers didn't know how the spade-toothed species processed their food.
The scientific team said in a statement that they found that the specimen had nine stomach chambers containing the remains of squid and parasites.
Among the more interesting finds were small vestigial teeth in the upper jaw.
“These tiny teeth embedded in the gums tell us something about their evolutionary history. It's amazing to see this, and this is another one we didn't know. That's one thing,” Van Helden said.
“This is a week I'll never forget in my life. It's definitely a highlight and the beginning of a story about this beautiful animal,” van Heerden added.
The dissection was also notable for the way scientists and curators worked with local Maori people, incorporating indigenous knowledge and practices into each step of the process.
Following the necropsy, local iwi (tribes) will store the whale's jawbone and teeth before displaying the skeleton in a museum. 3D printing will be used to replicate parts held by iwi.
For Maori, whales are taonga, or precious treasures, and the creatures are treated with ancestral respect.
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New Zealand is a hotspot for whale strandings, with more than 5,000 whale strandings recorded since 1840, according to the Department of Conservation.
The first spade whale bones were discovered in 1872 on Pitt Island, New Zealand. Another discovery was made on an offshore island in the 1950s, and a third skeleton was discovered on Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile in 1986.
