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Staff from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine have taken samples from a dead humpback whale on the beach at Burgh Haamstede in Zeeland. These samples will be further examined in the coming weeks.

A floating, dead whale was observed along the Dutch coast on Sunday morning, 2 June. According to pilot vessel Polaris, the whale was then floating about 8 miles (12.8 kilometres) from the mainland. On Monday afternoon, the animal stranded on the beach at Burgh Haamstede, Zeeland, and it was found to be a humpback whale. Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is investigating the cause of death and its condition.

Humpback whales are relatively rare in the North Sea. Only since 2003 have they been spotted more often. Strandings are even rarer - the last stranding of a humpback whale was on 5 July 2022 on Vlieland. Adult humpbacks are about 12 to 16 metres long and weigh about 25 to 30 tonnes. They usually live solitary or in small groups of two or three animals.

Tracing cause of death

The dead humpback whale had been floating in the water for some time before the animal was finally stranded. As a result, it is in a distant state of decomposition, making investigation difficult. Louis van den Boom, team leader at the Department of Pathology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, says: "What we know now is that it is an 8-metre, 46-centimetre female. Its estimated weight is 5.5, tonnes. The whale is in poor condition. Many of the abdominal organs are missing - they may have left the body via the mouth while floating - and so are the heart and lungs. " The team still hopes to eventually find out what the humpback whale died of.

Additional information 

In the coming weeks, Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ and Wageningen Marine Research will conduct further research into the cause of death, health condition, diet and origin of the humpback whale.