Tasmania’s Marine Conservation Program responded to a stranding of a pygmy right whale at Strahan’s Ocean Beach on Thursday, June 1.
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Until 2012 pygmy right whales were thought to be extinct, with the creature referred to as the most elusive and mysterious of the baleen whales because it rarely comes to shore.
The program took to their Whaletas Facebook page on Monday to share the rarity of the sighting.
“The cryptic baleen whale is one of the most poorly understood cetaceans, with very few sightings of the species reported,” the post said.
Sadly, the whale was dead when biologist arrived at the North-West beach.
Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service worked with the conservation program to collect “important” samples from the cetacean to assist with further studies into the species and the mechanisms that contribute to their stranding.
“Our preliminary results suggest that this was [a] young calf that became separated from its mother and has subsequent[ly] perished,” the post said.
The smallest baleen whales grow to a maximum of six and a half metres.
Whale sightings, dead or alive, should be reported to the whale hotline on 0427WHALES or by using the hashtag #WHALESTAS.
Reports help the program collect information about different whale species and their migration behaviour.
