Four endangered and very rare Cuvier’s beaked whales on Thursday morning were spotted in the waters of Argaka, Paphos, apparently, after losing their whereabouts, philenews reports.
According to philenews, Argaka community leader informed the Fisheries Department and Vet Services that one calf was spotted off the area.
A lot of people in the area rushed to the spot and carried the large mammal deeper into the sea to continue its journey, preventing the worst from happening.
“Later, we received information saying that three more individuals of the species, were found in nearby beaches,” the Fisheries Department said in an announcement.
“Two of them were alive and were carried back into the sea. A third one, unfortunately, was found dead,” the Department added.
A vet’s autopsy will show the exact cause of death of the mammal, while the Department will conduct an investigation concerning the reasons the animals were led to Cyprus.
Cuvier’s Beaked Whale is 5.5 to 7 metres long and weighs between 3 and 6 tonnes. It lives in deep sea waters and eats cephalopods, that is, mainly large squid.
It avoids humans and boats because it is reportedly very shy. Because of this, and the fact that it dives for 30-70 minutes at very deep depths, the species is extremely difficult to be studied.
Research and conservation action however, continues despite the challenges.
One thing for certain is that the beaked whales are out of the least known cetacean species and they live in small pods in marine areas with steep deep trenches.
