Jun 12, 2006 2:02 pm US/Eastern
Rare Whale Stranded On Cape Was Pregnant
DENNIS (AP) ―
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Officials did a health assessment and determined they had to put the female whale down.
CBS
A pygmy sperm whale that was euthanized after washing up in shallow waters off Cape Cod was pregnant and nearly full term, marine experts said Monday.
A necropsy was conducted at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to determine if the 870-pound animal was ill or experiencing pregnancy complications and unable to swim away.
The whale, which normally swims in deep water, came ashore at West Dennis Beach on Sunday morning, officials said.
"She was almost full term," said Bridget Cabral, a stranding technician with the Cape Cod Stranding Network who participated in the necropsy.
The fetus did not survive. The whale's term is nine months.
"It's hard every time an animal comes to shore," Cabral said. "It makes it harder when they're pregnant."
It's just the second time in eight years that a pygmy sperm whale, a dark creature with a square-shaped head, has stranded on the Cape, Cabral said.
"It's definitely rare. They are very deep sea divers. There's something wrong with it," she said.
Parts of the whale have been sent off for testing, so further results of the necropsy are weeks away.
Because the pygmy sperm whale is such a deep sea animal there's no accurate count of the population. They are not considered endangered, according to the American Cetacean Society.
It's much more common for pilot whales and common dolphins to become stranded. In December, a fast-moving snow storm was believed to have contributed to the deaths of 14 pilot whales and 20 dolphins.
Many of the animals that stranded on the shores of Barnstable, Dennis, Brewster and Truro were found dead, but five of the whales and eight of the common dolphins had to be euthanized.
The mass stranding was the largest on Cape Cod since 57 pilot whales died in Dennis in July 2002.
Every year, the stranding network responds to an average of 204 strandings of marine mammals.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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