Officials in the city of Ancud on Chiloe Island in southern Chile said on August 6 that a blue whale carcass appeared on the local beach a few days ago. The blue whale may have washed ashore after dying in the ocean.
According to Agence France-Presse, residents of Ancud City discovered the dead blue whale on the Pacific Ocean beach about 1,000 kilometers south of the capital Santiago on the 5th. The blue whale is the largest animal known to exist on earth.
The Chilean National Fisheries and Aquaculture Agency sent staff to conduct on-the-spot investigations and posted on social media, confirming that the corpse “belongs to a large baleen whale” and was initially confirmed to be a blue whale.
“From its condition, the whale drifted here after being dead at sea for some time,” Christian Udsson, regional director of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service, told local media.
Fishing is one of the pillar industries of the Chilean economy. The local environmental protection organization said that in view of the heavy fishing activities and shipping in the nearby waters, it is hoped that relevant parties will intervene in the investigation to determine whether the blue whale died due to a collision with a ship at sea.
Source: CCTV.com
