On Saturday morning, two Sowerby’s beaked whales washed ashore on the beach of Heemskerk. SOS Dolfijn confirms this to NU.nl after reports by NH Nieuws.
It does not often happen that Sowerby’s beaked whales wash ashore in the Netherlands. The animals do not normally occur in the North Sea because they are deep-sea animals.
“The North Sea is too shallow, which means they cannot navigate,” explains a spokesperson for SOS Dolfijn. If the dolphins end up in the North Sea by taking “a wrong turn,” it is almost always bad news.
One of the animals has now died, the spokesperson says. A doctor from SOS Dolfijn is on his way to Heemskerk. He will determine the best option for the other dolphin.
It is expected that it will be euthanized. “Euthanasia is the most humane choice, because the dolphin cannot survive otherwise,” says the spokesperson.
Sowerby’s beaked whales form a separate family (Ziphiidae) among the toothed whales. They are characterized by their narrow, pointed snout. The animals are usually 4 to 13 meters long. Because many of these dolphins occur in the middle of the ocean, not much is known about their occurrence and behavior.