Shocking photos show giant whale with rare deformity
A gigantic, 56-foot fin whale with severe scoliosis was spotted swimming offshore near the city of Valencia, Spain earlier this month — and scientists were able to capture the rare sight on tape.
The 40-ton fella — whose body was contorted into a V-like shape — wound up caught in a drift net on Mar. 4, and was first sighted by a local boat captain, who quickly radioed maritime authorities, Jam Press reported.
Scientists at Valencia’s Oceanogràfic Foundation described the whale’s condition as “a scoliosis of unknown origin that altered his natural anatomy,” in a Spanish-language Facebook post.
“Professionals warn that it is possible that he could appear in the next few days due to his general condition and difficulty swimming,” a translated version of the post read.
Because of the whale’s condition, biologists said they were limited in what they could do for the sea creature, which was spotted roughly 50 miles south of Valencia near the town of Cullera.
“Due to the magnitude of the whale, being in the open sea and its malformation, it was not possible to place a remote tracker on it to obtain more detailed data on its condition, its biology and its trajectory,” the foundation said.
Scoliosis is rarely seen in whales, according to Science Alert, and scientists do not often get the opportunity to observe the condition up close.
This article is republished from New York Post under a Creative Commons license.
Read the original article by Alex Mitchell
