Finistère: a second whale 15 meters long found stranded on a beach

Saturday, September 10, a walker discovered a whale 15 meters long stranded on a beach in Finistère. This is the second whale found stranded in the region in eight days.

On the morning of Saturday September 10, on the beach of Kermabec in the town of Tréguennec, a walker made a sad discovery. In fact, he saw a fin whale 15 meters long stranded on the beach.

It is exactly the same kind of whale than the one found eight days earlier on the Ile de Sein. For the moment, this first animal is still lying there and could be towed during the high tides expected this weekend.

A second stranded whale

An area around the second whale discovered has been marked out. Unlike the other whale, this one can be analyzed, which will allow scientists to learn more about this species and understand the causes of the death of the two. cetaceans .

“These are animals about which we have very, very little information. This stranding will allow us to know more for example about its diet, by studying the contents of its stomach, about possible pathologies too. For this, we intervene in conjunction with the University of La Rochelle, to systematically examine all the marine mammals that wash up on our coasts” , explained Cécile Gicquel, in charge of natural heritage.

The fin whale is part of the whale family and is the fastest of all. It used to be an endangered species, but since the International Union for Conservation of Nature banned whaling, the fin whale population has been on the rise since the 1970s.

This Monday, September 12, an evacuation operation took place to transport the whale. The scientists found that his tongue was swollen, and they will get more results after the animal's operation.