An extremely rare whale, believed to be a Longman’s beaked whale, washed up on the South African coast this week, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.
The five-metre-long male specimen, which washed up at Plettenberg Bay about 500 kilometres east of Cape Town, is the best preserved example of the mammal ever found, the paper said.
Before 1999, only three skulls of the species have been found in Kenya Somalia and Tasmania.
“I’m 95% sure its a Longman’s beaked whale,” said Professor Vic Cockcroft, a dolphin and whale biologist.
“It’s a virtually unknown species,” he said adding that an autopsy would reveal more clues to the animal’s secret life.
Scientists have preserved the whale’s flesh and are in the process of collecting genetic samples for further studies, SABC radio news reported.
A cast have been made of the whale’s body and its skeleton will be exhibited at a nearby museum. – AFP