A few days ago, a humpback whale washed ashore in Eyjafjörður. Staff from the Húsavík Whale Museum went on a field trip to examine the animal, which now lies below the farm Áshóll, just south of Grenivík.
During their visit, the museum staff met with Anna Bára Bergvinsdóttir, a farmer at Áshóll and operator of a guesthouse on the site. She said she first saw the whale carcass stuck on a shoal quite far from land, but it was later freed by the high tide and drifted closer. This isn’t the first time Anna Bára has witnessed a whale stranding in the area—last year, she had to use a tractor to push a beached whale carcass back into the sea to get rid of the smell that accompanies such strandings.
The humpback whale turned out to be a 10-meter-long female. With help from our partners at the whale research organization Whale Wise, the individual was identified. Each humpback whale has a unique pattern on its tail fluke, allowing researchers to track individuals.
Humpback whales are among the most commonly seen species on whale-watching tours in Iceland. Because they often lift their tail flukes high out of the water before diving, it’s relatively easy to collect photographs for research databases.
This individual is listed under the ID HW-MN0104313 on the Happywhale website and was first spotted in Eyjafjörður earlier this year.
According to whale researcher and captain Babsi Neubarth, this whale was seen alive just a few days ago.
More information about the whale can be found here: happywhale.com/individual/142095
The cause of death is currently unknown, but no visible injuries were found on the animal. The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute has been notified, and it’s likely that staff from the University of Iceland’s Research Center in Húsavík will visit in the coming days to take samples and measurements.
