The orca whale which perished after washing up on a Flagler County beach was an elderly female who passed away from disease, according to specialists.
This whale was indeed a mature female on the verge of senior age, and her body was plagued with illnesses.
Therefore, we cannot rule out possible human contact and trauma. It appears to be more of an illness than anything else.
Blair Mase-Gutherie, NOAA’s Southeast area marine mammals beaching director, stated that it appears that this whale was affected by an illness.
On Wednesday, the 21-foot whale went to shore close to Jungle Hut Park.
It’s the first time a killer whale has been recorded stranding in Florida, according to scientists, who described the incident as highly uncommon.
The 21-foot, about 5,000-pound whale was loaded into a truck by dozens of personnel over several hours and driven towards SeaWorld Orlando for an autopsy.
A Team Of Scientists, Biologists, And Veterinarians
A team of scientists, biologists, and veterinarians labored late into the evening collecting tissue from the dead whale, according to Blair Mase-Gutherie, a marine animal expert with NOAA.
Their investigation is not over only because it was determined that perhaps the whale had perished from an illness.
In order to precisely identify the sickness or process occurring, Mase-Gutherie stated, “we’re looking to discover out, try to determine what type of sickness was going on. We gathered a large number of specimens and biological and pathological samples.”
The presence of killer whales off the Florida coast is not uncommon, according to Mase-Gutherie, but they’re frequently so far offshore that they are not visible.
She claims that the Smithsonian from Washington, D.C., will eventually put the whale’s bones on exhibit.
The bone fragments will be interred at the University of Florida before ever being transported to the Smithsonian so that any leftover tissue can decay. Then it will be dug up.
