A 56-foot sperm whale washed up dead on a Hawaii beach over the weekend, marking a loss for an endangered species that was nearly wiped out before commercial whaling ended in 1986.
The carcass, which weighs an estimated 122,000 pounds, was first spotted on the reef off Lydgate Beach on Kauai’s east coast on Friday. It was washed ashore by the tide on Saturday, according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. The beach was closed until Monday,
Local Hawaiian practitioners viewed the day’s activities and performed all day cultural protocols for the dead Sperm Whale at Lydgate Park on Kauaʻi HI on January 28, 2023
Courtesy of the Hawaii Department of Land and ResourcesResearchers at the University of Hawaii Health and Stranding Laboratory are examining the animal to determine the cause of death and it will be months before the lab tests are completed and the results are available. Jamie Thomton, Kauai beaching coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Division, said the whale likely died just days before it washed ashore.
“There are many possible causes, including illness, injury from a ship strike, entanglement in discarded fishing line, or ingestion of plastic waste at sea,” said Dr. Kristi West, who runs the lab, in a DLNR press release.
Over the weekend, several local authorities used large machines to lift the whale from the wet sand to a dry area so researchers could conduct an autopsy, a postmortem examination that includes taking samples and measurements. Historians then identified an area where the whale remains can be buried without disturbing the ancestral bones, the DLNR said.
Local Hawaiian practitioners viewed the day’s activities and performed all day cultural protocols for the dead Sperm Whale at Lydgate Park on Kauaʻi HI on January 28, 2023
Courtesy of the Hawaii Department of Land and Resources
A dead 56-foot, 120,000-pound sperm whale washed up on the beach at Lydgate Park on Kauaʻi, HI on January 28, 2023
Courtesy of the Hawaii Department of Land and Resources
A dead 56-foot, 120,000-pound sperm whale washed up on the beach at Lydgate Park on Kauaʻi, HI on January 28, 2023
Courtesy of the Hawaii Department of Land and Resources
Excavators prepare to remove the dead 56-foot-long, 120,000-pound sperm whale January 28, 2002 from the beach in Lydgate Park on Kauaʻi HI3
Courtesy of the Hawai’i Department of Land and Resources
(Courtesy of the Hawaii Department of Land and Resources)
Known for their large heads and toothy mouths, sperm whales inhabit the deep waters of all oceans. Their populations declined from 1800 to 1987 when the whaling industry hunted the species for oil, which NOAA says was used in oil lamps, candles, and lubricants. The agency said the species is still recovering.