A sperm whale calf was found dead on Friday (26) by residents of Goiabal beach, in the municipality of Calçoene, in the northeast of Amapá. The cause of the animal's death, which is approximately 5 meters long, is still unknown. It is not known whether the whale's biological material will be collected for laboratory testing to identify the cause of death. According to marine biologist Suelen Felix, from the State University of Amapá (Ueap), whales of this species do not have coastal habits. According to Suelen, they are from deeper waters and were probably lost from the group, which could have happened for several reasons. It came disoriented and/or weakened towards the coast and ran aground, if this was the cause of death, which would need to be investigated. Another hypothesis is that she could also have died in the water and been brought by the currents and tide, explained the researcher. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) — the largest of the toothed whales and the largest predator on the planet — have one of the widest global distributions of any marine mammal species, having been sighted in deep waters off the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as in around the Equator.

Source: Amazon Agency