What is a bottlenose a rare tropical whale?

Professor Vic Cockcroft of the Centre for Dolphin Studies in Plettenberg Bay has identified a 4,5-metre beach marine mammal, found at Keurbooms beach near Plettenberg Bay, as a rare tropical bottlenose whale, also known as a Longman’s beaked whale. This is only the third animal of this kind ever found.

Professor Cockcroft, who mistakenly identified the first two finds as southern bottlenose dolphins, sent tissue samples to Tasmania for DNA analysis as the material is not yet available in South Africa.

An autopsy to determine the cause of the death and to obtain more information about the whale and its lifestyle confirmed that the animal had died of a parasitic infestation. Johnny Gibson of the Centre for Dolphin Studies said: “All its major organs where infested and unfortunately the stomach was empty for bile. Its main food source could not be determined.”

“The first two finds, in Natal and Tsitsikamma, were the first proof that this animal even existed. Before 1999, only three skulls had been found, so there was no conclusive proof that what we had was a beaked whale.”

“These three whale finds, and the three skulls found in Kenya, Tasmania and Somalia seem to sugest the animal favours the southern hemisphere and the Indian Ocean,” said Gibson. “Most beaked whales are squid eaters, so these animals also probably feed on squid. However, as this is such a rare species, nothing can be said for certain.”