Giant Humpback whale corpse found washed up in Amazon forest

Although it’s not a recent case, it’s still an interesting one. The incident happened in February 2019, when researchers stumbled upon a giant humpback whale corpse amidst the flora and fauna of the Amazon forest in Brazil.

A whale corpse

It’s not uncommon for large sea creatures like whales and sharks to wash up on beaches. What is rare is when they are found in a jungle. According to The New York Times, marine biologists were left astonished when they discovered the dead body of a giant humpback whale amongst the bushes on the Brazilian island of Marajo, at the beginning of the Amazon River.

The whale was located approximately 50 feet (15m) from the nearest water body. It was 26 feet (7m) long and experts estimated that the whale wasn’t even fully grown, but was only 12 months old.

How did it end up in the jungle?

The situation made experts wonder how did the whale, who was supposed to migrate to other water bodies already, end up here. As per ABC News, the NGO, Bicho D'agua Institute, which looks after the Marajo island, suspects that the whale might already have been dead before washing up on the shore.

Marine biologists believe that the whale was separated from its group which was supposed to migrate to the Southern Hemisphere during this time of year. It’s suspected that it separated from the herd due to a particularly strong tide and got lost in the Amazon river. It might have gotten ‘disoriented’ and died shortly after.

Sources used:

The New York Times, 'Humpback Whale Washes Ashore in Amazon River, Baffling Scientists in Brazil'

ABC News, 'Brazilian researchers investigating discovery of dead humpback whale in Amazon jungle'

Read more:

⋙ A whale bursts out of the water and sweeps away two kayakers (VIDEO)

⋙ A giant whale devoured a man and then spat him back out

⋙ Killer whales have been attacking sailboats in Europe