A single pilot whale spotted unusually close to a beach in Norway could be lost or hurt, Norwegian experts said Thursday, while hundreds of curious bathers reportedly gathered to catch a glimpse of the animal.
OSLO, Norway — A single pilot whale spotted unusually close to a beach in Norway could be lost or hurt, Norwegian experts said Thursday, while hundreds of curious bathers reportedly gathered to catch a glimpse of the animal.
The whale was first seen Sunday at a resort beach in Klepp, just south of the city of Stavanger, some 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of the capital, Oslo, zoologist Kolbjoern Skipnes said.
Skipnes, from the Stavanger Museum, said the mammal, which appeared to be a male, may have abandoned its flock and wandered close to the beach either curious about bathers or lured by an echo of fish moving in fishing nets off the coast.
Environmental experts at Stavanger county governor's office were taking measures for a rescue operation if the whale beached, he said.
Biologist Per Terje Haaland said the whale could be sick or injured since it was behaving oddly, moving back and forth in shallow water.
Characteristically dark colored and with a round shaped head, the pilot whale belongs to the dolphin family and measures up to 6.1 meters (20 feet). It is found in all oceans, feeding on squid and cod.
"The pilot whales are normally very tame, social and highly intelligent," Skipnes said, adding that navies in some countries have trained them to dive up to 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) to collect objects from the bottom.
They are a common sight off the Norwegian coast in summer, but far out in the sea, and they usually traveling in herds of 20 to 30, Skipnes said.
Source: Associated Press
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