Whale of Sorrento: the animal may have been killed by a virus, the so-called "whale measles".
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him"It is confirmed to be the largest beached fin whale ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea", yet around its death it is now necessary to clarify: what will have killed the magnificent 20-meter whale found dead in recent days in the port of Sorrento?
Having arrived at the port of Naples, in the Megaride shipyards, exams are now underway by the team led by Sandro Mazzariol, professor at the University of Padua and head of the intervention unit of the Cetaceans strandings Emergency Response Team (Cert) .
Upon first inspection, the deceased mammal seems compatible with the specimen taken in the video that went viral on the web in the port of Sorrento in which a whale is seen wriggling and violently banging its head against the dock. And today a first hypothesis about his death seems already clear: the animal may have been killed by a virus, the so-called "whale measles".
“These have been very complicated days. The death of the whale affected the whole community. The weight and size of the specimen created many logistical and organizational problems. But we insisted and wanted at all costs that the necropsy be carried out and afterwards we hope that the museum will be opened ”, comments Lucio Cacace, President of the Marine Protected Area of Punta Campanella.
Posted by CERT – Cetacean strandings Emergency Response Team on Wednesday, January 20, 2021
If the dimensions estimated by the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Southern Italy, about 23,50 meters, were to be confirmed, we would find ourselves in front of the largest fin whale ever recorded along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. A record-breaking specimen.
⚠️⚠️⚠️ Fin whale update ⚠️⚠️⚠️ The preliminary inspection by the # CERT is concluded. The specimen…
Posted by CERT – Cetacean strandings Emergency Response Team on Wednesday, January 20, 2021
“In our seas - conclude the Tethys researchers - two populations coexist, one strictly Mediterranean, and one of fin whales periodically coming from the Atlantic which generally do not go beyond the Balearic Islands. Genetic analyzes will be able to confirm the origin of the unfortunate animal ".
Source: ANSA / CERT
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