A special whale stranded on Desroches Island
ISLAND CONSERVATION SOCIETY - 17.08.2009
On June 20 a freshly dead male ginkgo-toothed beaked whale was found stranded on the beach at the eastern end of Desroches near to the old lighthouse.
This is the first ginkgo-toothed beaked whale to ever be recorded in the Seychelles. This particular whale measured over four metres in length, was dark grey black in colour and had a short beak, with two teeth barely protruding from the middle lower jaw. The whale had sustained two serious shark bites, one on its head and the other on its tail, the wounds were clean cut with clear teeth marks and are thought to have been caused by a tiger shark.
Everyone on Desroches was very excited to be able to witness this once in a life time event, no one more than ICS staff who, with the help of both staff and guests from the Desroches Island Lodge, recorded this amazing find. Both the head and a sample of flesh were removed from the whale, to help with both identification, and to also provide as much information about the specimen as possible. Sadly the stomach of the whale was attacked by sharks as the tide rose, which meant that no information was recorded about what this whale’s last meal was.
I found the experience totally inspiring. Conservationists and scientists still have so much to discover about our oceans and creatures that inhabit them. I am sure that neither I, nor the staff or guests who helped will ever forget this exciting find.
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whales were first discovered in Japan, where they got their name from the shape of the male’s teeth, which is similar to that of the ginkgo trees leaves. Almost nothing is known about the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale’s ecology, biology, behaviour, diet, migratory patterns and population size. There has been very few authenticated sightings of these whales as it is very hard to distinguish between all the different types of beaked whales when they are seen in the water; the only information known about them comes from 17 rare stranded specimens.
These whales have been found stranded off Japan, California, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The species is thought to be distributed in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans; however more recordings are made in the Western North Pacific than anywhere else. A gingko-toothed beaked whale was apparently sighted off the east coast of Mayotte, but there were no pictures to support this identification. This species has also been formerly identified further north around the Maldives. The sad stranding of this specimen will not go to waste; it will be used to help improve scientist’s knowledge of this beautiful rare species.
by Lisa Thompson
The Island Conservation Society promotes the conservation and restoration of island ecosystems.