The discovery of a dead humpback whale in the Amazon rainforest has baffled wildlife experts.
The 10-tonne mammal was found in jungle undergrowth on the island of Marajo, a huge island near the mouth of the Amazon River.
Brazilian health, sanitation and environment officials said they only found the whale after following birds of prey circling in the sky and then descending to scavenge the whale’s huge carcass, according to a report in Britain’s Independent.
The story evokes the legendary “World War II bomber found on moon” front-page headline in the UK’s Sunday Sport tabloid in 1988 – except that story was made up, and this one isn’t.
The whale’s remains were discovered a remote mangrove swamp in the Amazon delta, with wildlife experts having to make two trips to reach the site.
They are now trying to work out what a humpback whale was doing on the north coast of Brazil during February – which is wildly off the usual migration routes.
Wildlife experts examine whale carcass in Amazon jungle. (Facebook: Bicho D’agua Institute)
The whale is believed to be a calf which got separated from its mother.
Researchers have found no clear reasons why the animal died. How it swam or was washed into the Amazon rainforest is another mystery.
Written by Peter Needham
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