New Zealand Scientists Suspect Specimen of World's Rarest Whale Died from Head Injuries

FILE - In this photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation rangers Jim Fyfe and Tūmai Cassidy walk alongside what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale, on July 5, 2024, after its was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. (Department of Conservation via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation rangers Jim Fyfe and Tūmai Cassidy walk alongside what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale, on July 5, 2024, after its was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. (Department of Conservation via AP, File)
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New Zealand Scientists Suspect Specimen of World's Rarest Whale Died from Head Injuries

FILE - In this photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation rangers Jim Fyfe and Tūmai Cassidy walk alongside what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale, on July 5, 2024, after its was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. (Department of Conservation via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation rangers Jim Fyfe and Tūmai Cassidy walk alongside what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale, on July 5, 2024, after its was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. (Department of Conservation via AP, File)

Scientists suspect the first complete specimen ever recorded of the world’s rarest whale died from head injuries, an expert said Friday.
The first dissection of a spade-toothed whale, a type of beaked whale, was completed last week after a painstaking examination at a research center near the New Zealand city of Dunedin, the local people who led the scientific team, Te Rūnanga Ōtākou, said in a statement issued by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
A near-perfectly preserved 5-meter (16-foot) male was found washed up on a South Island beach in July. It was the first complete specimen ever recorded. There have only been seven known sightings and never of a living spade-toothed whale.
New Zealand conservation agency beaked whale expert Anton van Helden said the whale’s broken jaw and bruising to the head and neck led scientists to believe that head trauma may have caused its death, The Associated Press reported.
“We don’t know, but we suspect there must have been some sort of trauma, but what caused that could be anyone’s guess,” van Helden said in a statement.
All varieties of beaked whales have different stomach systems and researchers didn’t know how the spade-toothed type processed its food.
The scientific team found the specimen had nine stomach chambers containing remnants of squid and parasitic worms, the statement said.
Among the more interesting finds were tiny vestigial teeth in the upper jaw.
“These little teeth embedded in the gum tells us something about their evolutionary history. It’s remarkable to see this and it’s just another thing that we had no idea about,” van Helden said.
“It’s a week I’ll never forget in my life, it’s certainly a highlight and it’s the start of the storytelling around this beautiful animal,” van Helden added.
The dissection was also notable because scientists and curators worked together with local Māori people to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and customs into each step of the process.
Following the dissection, the local iwi, or tribe, will keep the jawbone and teeth of the whale before its skeleton is displayed in a museum. 3D printing will be used to replicate those parts retained by the iwi.
To Māori, whales are a taonga -– a precious treasure -– and the creature has been treated with the reverence afforded to an ancestor.
New Zealand is a whale-stranding hotspot, with more than 5,000 episodes recorded since 1840, according to the Department of Conservation.
The first spade-toothed whale bones were found in 1872 on New Zealand’s Pitt Island. Another discovery was made at an offshore island in the 1950s, and the bones of a third were found on Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island in 1986.



Not Quite the ‘Girl from Ipanema’, a Fur Seal’s Rare Appearance on Rio’s Famous Beach Turns Heads

A fur seal stands on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A fur seal stands on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
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Not Quite the ‘Girl from Ipanema’, a Fur Seal’s Rare Appearance on Rio’s Famous Beach Turns Heads

A fur seal stands on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A fur seal stands on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Short, and dark, and young, and tired, the seal on Ipanema was basking ...

The fur seal on Rio de Janeiro’s iconic beach was turning heads of locals and tourists alike Wednesday morning — though not for the same reasons as the famous "Girl from Ipanema."

The animal is often spotted along Brazil's coastline during winter and spring, but rarely is it seen this time of year, a few days before the start of the Southern Hemisphere's summer, said Suelen Santiago, a biologist who works at the company that monitors the beach.

"This year we're having atypical situations," she said.

Cordoned off by tape and flags, the young male seal became the main attraction on one of the world’s most famous beaches. Among the curious onlookers was Jordana Halpern, 29. She had never seen such a specimen and rushed to the beach when she heard it had been spotted.

"It's cool, but it’s kind of sad. It seems like it’s not doing very well," Halpern said. Almost as though hearing her, the seal moved more energetically, lifting its head and emitting a low sound. "Oh my God! It moved a lot!" Halpert said.

Santiago said they still don't know why the animal ended up in Ipanema out of season, but wasn't worried: "It's just resting. The animal is very active, so he’s only resting, and soon it’ll head back to the sea."