SEDGEFIELD NEWS - When a male Sperm Whale washed up on Swartvlei Beach west of Sedgefield on Friday 31 August, it was a rare opportunity for marine scientists to study the species.
The largest of the toothed whale family, Sperm Whales are also the largest modern predator species on the planet.
Preying on squid, they hunt in deep water between 300m and 2000m, so are not common close inshore along the South African coastline.
What was remarkable was that it washed up within 200m of the female Humpback Whale that stranded on 29 June, a function of tides, inshore currents and wind patterns at play.
Making the most of the opportunity to contribute to their scant knowledge of this species, marine biologists Danielle Conry and Frikkie van der Vyver from the Plett Stranding Network, Sasha Dines for Oceans Research, Wayne Meyer from Cape Nature and volunteers from SMART arrived on Saturday morning 1 September to collect samples.
Read the full story in Thursday's Knysna-Plett Herald, and online.
Read a related article: Stranded whale's sad swansong
Dr Stephanie Plon shows some of the whale’s stomach contents. In the background part of the whale can be seen. Photo: Mark Dixon
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