Living on the costa

A dead whale has appeared this Thursday morning stranded on the shore of the central La Rada beach, in Estepona, where the City Council has proceeded to withdraw it after contracting a specialized machinery service and sampling by environmental agents, According to municipal sources.

The Consistory has waited several hours to proceed with the removal of the animal carcass, for which it was previously necessary to obtain authorization from the Center for the Recovery of Endangered Marine Species of Malaga (CREMA) and the Environment of the Andalusian Government, they have indicated.

As indicated by the Consistory, after the removal of the lifeless body of the whale from the coast, the professionals have taken muscle tissue samples of this mammal for later analysis, which is 14.40 meters long and could weigh “about eight tons,” they added. The animal is a male fin whale.

For the work of extracting the cetacean from the sea, the Consistory has contracted a specialized machinery service, whose work to remove the lifeless body began after 1:00 p.m., according to the biologist and director of CREMA, José Luis Mons, who specified that first “a piece was moved through the water with a large rotary and then they have brought it closer to the perimeter.”

The expert has pointed out that the carcass of the animal has been found in “rotten” and “fairly insane” state, since “it had lost many pieces of skin” with amounts of it “floating in the water”, and “the seagulls were already eating and pecking at it”, for which he estimated that the whale could have been dead “about 10 days or a week” .

The expert has pointed out that the carcass of the animal has been found in “rotten” and “fairly insane” state, since “it had lost many pieces of skin” with amounts of it “floating in the water”, and “the seagulls were already eating and pecking at it”, for which he estimated that the whale could have been dead “about 10 days or a week” .

To shed more light on the finding, Mons pointed out that they have taken “skin, fat, muscle and beard samples”, while highlighting that “it is normal for these species to appear on our coasts” because “there are around here”, although he clarified that “they are rare because there are few specimens”.

Regarding the reason for his death, the expert has pointed out that apparently he does not show signs that he has suffered “blows, or interaction with fishing gear”, explaining that the death of the cetacean could have been caused by “a chemical contamination that animals accumulate over time in their tissues, an ingestion of plastic, some disease or a natural death, which although it is rarer can also be”. In addition, he added that the body “has appeared whole because sometimes they are nibbled by animals and a part is missing”, but the specimen found in Estepona “is missing many pieces of skin from the time it was in the sea”.

Numerous neighbors have come to the place throughout the day to contemplate the cetacean carcass, for which the City Council has perimeter the area, as well as videos and images have been shared on the networks. In addition, several education centers in the city have gone to the coast with students to see the discovery.