Young Humpback Whale Found Stranded in Wadden Sea Revealed as Underweight

A recent discovery in the Wadden Sea has drawn attention to the plight of marine wildlife. A young humpback whale, measuring approximately 7.4 meters in length, has been found deceased on a remote island, raising concerns among marine experts.

The whale, which is believed to be undernourished, was located on a bird sanctuary island east of Wangerooge after a pilot spotted it from a helicopter. This unfortunate finding follows the earlier discovery of a deceased sperm whale, measuring 14.3 meters, which was washed ashore on Sylt.

Experts from the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park have conducted preliminary examinations of the young whale's remains. They noted that the whale appeared to be quite thin, suggesting it may have relied on its fat reserves prior to its death. In addition, some intestinal parasites were discovered during the examination.

Mature male humpback whales can grow up to 15 meters long, while females can reach 16 meters, indicating that this specimen was still in its juvenile stage. The fate of the whale's carcass has also been a topic of discussion; officials from the Waterways and Shipping Administration in Wilhelmshaven have indicated that it can remain on the beach for now. It will only be removed if rising tides pose a risk to navigation in the area.

The National Park administration confirmed that the stranded whale serves as a source of nourishment for other organisms within the ecosystem. However, the exact circumstances surrounding its malnutrition and death remain uncertain, pending further pathological investigations.

Stranding events for large whales along the North Sea coast are not uncommon. Experts have documented these occurrences for centuries, often attributing them to navigational errors by deep-sea species like sperm whales, particularly in shallow waters where they may lose their sense of direction. This may also explain the recent stranding of the sperm whale discovered near Sylt.

Visitors to the Wadden Sea are informed that Minsener Oog, the island where the humpback whale was found, is a protected area and off-limits year-round due to its significance as a breeding and resting site for numerous bird species. As such, the carcass cannot be accessed for public viewing. Furthermore, authorities have issued warnings against illegal attempts to extract teeth from stranded whales, although it should be noted that humpback whales are baleen whales and do not possess teeth.

Currently, the only whale species commonly found in the Wadden Sea is the harbor porpoise, which reaches a maximum length of just 1.5 meters. The population of harbor porpoises in the German North Sea has seen a significant decline in recent years, with studies indicating a reduction of nearly four percent annually since 2009. This has brought the population down from approximately 49,700 to around 23,219 individuals, according to research conducted by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover. Occasionally, dwarf whales, white-beaked dolphins, and white-sided dolphins may be spotted passing through the area.