Two sperm whales died within seven days of each other in the Florida Keys near Key West, state and federal officials revealed Wednesday.
One was a young whale that died on May 4 off Key Largo. The other fish, a large adult that died after beaching near Mud Key, about 15 miles northeast of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, was found Tuesday, officials with the wildlife protection agency told The Associated Press. television media.
Kelly Richmond, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the whale was 47 feet long. “We just started the necropsy on the animal now,” she said Wednesday morning. “It’s likely to take most of the day, and even then we may not have all the results.”
Casey Taylor, manager of Robbie’s Marina, added that he was called around 4 p.m. Tuesday to report the finding of the whale offshore, and that it was later deposited at the site by employees of a marine animal towing company. , around two in the morning on Wednesday.
The other whale was a newborn calf, so much so that its umbilical cord was still hanging out when it was found on a small barrier reef island off John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, said Blair Mase, regional coordinator for National Oceanic and Weather Agency (NOAA) Southeast Region Marine Mammal Strandings.
Finding dead sperm whales in South Florida is an unusual occurrence. They usually go to die in the Gulf of Mexico.
