Srikakulam: Bryde’s whale 'traps' in shallow waters, dies; carcass washes ashore
Bryde's Whale is currently classified as data deficient on the IUCN red list of threatened species and are considered as one of the "great whales." Fishery Survey of India, this could be the first record of stranding on Andhra Pradesh's coast.
By Sri Lakshmi Muttevi Published on 29 July 2023 5:46 AM GMT
Srikakulam: A Bryde’s whale was found washed up and dead on the beach of Meghavaram village in Santhabommali Mandal in Srikakulam district on Friday.
According to the Fishery Survey of India, this could be the first record of stranding on Andhra Pradesh's coast.
Videos of local villagers playing and examining the whale's carcass have gone viral.
The giant male marine mammal (Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1878) has a length of 32.5 ft and a width of 6.5 ft, weighing 5 tonnes (approx).
Based on the morphological characteristics, the mamal is a Bryde's whale also known as ‘tropical whales’, due to their preference for waters of 16° Celsius or higher. They are found in both near shore and open waters. They possess three prominent ridges in front of their blowholes with a low splashguard to the front. Their bodies are sleek with slender and pointed flippers.
Local fishermen say the whale might have died because it got trapped in shallow waters.
Migrate with seasons
According to the Fishery Survey of India, Visakhapatnam, Bryde's whale is commonly available in the tropical and sub-tropical regions and is distributed globally. They are coastal and pelagic species and mostly solitary.
Some populations of Bryde's whales migrate with the seasons, moving away from the equator during the summer and towards the equator during the winter. They are piscivorous animal and prefers anchovies, sardines, and mackerels.
Greatest whales
It is currently classified as data deficient on the IUCN red list of threatened species and is considered one of the "great whales." All Bryde’s whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
What could be the reasons?
"The stranding of whales could be due to various reasons like tides, currents, weather conditions, acoustic disturbances, changes in water temperature, and magnetic disturbances. On Indian coasts, these mammals are stranded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Odisha. This could be the first record of stranding on the Andhra Pradesh coast," said GVA Prasad, Junior Fisheries Scientist, Fishery Survey of India, Visakhapatnam.
