Pygmy blue whale beaches and dies off NT coast in historic first sighting
A pygmy blue whale has died after becoming stranded off the coast of Groote Eylandt in what researchers believe is the first time the species has ever been sighted in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
A pygmy blue whale, believed to be the first ever recorded sighting of the species in the Gulf of Carpentaria, died after becoming stranded off the coast of Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory. Traditional owners on the island first spotted the 20-meter-long whale beached about 500 meters offshore on Friday morning and alerted the Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers.
Kirsten Eden, the land and sea manager, described the incredible size of the whale as "gobsmacking" and said she had never seen anything like it before. Researchers from Charles Darwin University confirmed the whale's identity through photographs and tissue samples. While the exact cause of the whale's stranding remains unknown, researchers consider it an extremely rare event.
There have been only two previous recorded beachings of pygmy blue whales in the NT, in 1981 and 2003, with 22 and 23 years, respectively, between each incident. Other CDU researcher Carol Palmer noted that satellite tracking data from six tagged pygmy blue whales off Western Australia suggests they typically migrate to Timor-Leste and Indonesia, where they give birth.
The whale's carcass is now being managed by the Anindilyakwa rangers, who face challenges in retrieving it due to its size and location.
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