The rare, 14-foot-long whale washed up on Buckroe Beach Sunday morning. Now, researchers are trying to figure out why.
The Virginia Aquarium stranding response team is performing a necropsy today to unravel this mystery. They're dissecting a beaked whale and looking for clues as to why it ended up about 80 miles from its normal stomping ground.
Seeing a beaked whale from shore is rare. Typically, they live and feed in deep water. They dive deep to forage for food such as fish and squid. More common whales to beach in the area are fin or humpback whales, according to Joan Barns, spokeswoman for the Virginia Aquarium.
So, why did this whale end up on Buckroe Beach?
Researchers NewsChannel 3 spoke with think Navy sonar is often to blame when beaked whales end up on the beach. The sonar disorients whales and sends them swimming in the wrong direction. NewsChannel 3 also spole with Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk and they say only five beaked whale strandings over the past 13 years have been directly linked to sonar. Without a necropsy, there is no way of knowing for sure why the 12-foot-long beaked whale ended up on Buckroe Beach yesterday.
The stranding response team reached out to other experts. An expert from NOAA and a marine mammal specialist from UNC-Wilmington will help to solve this mystery. The necropsy will take several hours.
The Virginia Aquarium stranding response team is performing a necropsy today to unravel this mystery. They're dissecting a beaked whale and looking for clues as to why it ended up about 80 miles from its normal stomping ground.
Seeing a beaked whale from shore is rare. Typically, they live and feed in deep water. They dive deep to forage for food such as fish and squid. More common whales to beach in the area are fin or humpback whales, according to Joan Barns, spokeswoman for the Virginia Aquarium.
So, why did this whale end up on Buckroe Beach?
Researchers NewsChannel 3 spoke with think Navy sonar is often to blame when beaked whales end up on the beach. The sonar disorients whales and sends them swimming in the wrong direction. NewsChannel 3 also spole with Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk and they say only five beaked whale strandings over the past 13 years have been directly linked to sonar. Without a necropsy, there is no way of knowing for sure why the 12-foot-long beaked whale ended up on Buckroe Beach yesterday.
The stranding response team reached out to other experts. An expert from NOAA and a marine mammal specialist from UNC-Wilmington will help to solve this mystery. The necropsy will take several hours.
