The carcass of a dead humpback whale has been discovered in the Amazon rainforest and is baffling marine experts.
The area is crisscrossed by thousands of rivers, including the mighty Amazon that lent its name to the tropical land mass, the largest of its kind in the world.
So you might assume the whale managed to swim its way into the heart of the island of Marajo via these rivers.
However the body was found in the undergrowth of Araruna Beach, which lies at the mouth of the island bay, meaning that theory is less likely because of its proximity to the South Atlantic Ocean.
The whale was found in Brazilian woodland and was well hidden – were it not for the swarms of scavenger birds that had descended to feast on its flesh.
Dirlene Silva from the Brazilian environmental, health, and sanitation department (SEMMA) told local media the vultures were ‘spotted circling above the carcass which was found hidden in the bush some distance from the sea’.
Alerted to the bizarre occurrence, a team of specialists from non-governmental organisation Bicho D’água Institute travelled to the site to try to ascertain what happened to deceased whale.
They suggested the animal, which is believed to be a calf, could have got tangled up in the mangroves after being tossed ashore onto the island by rough seas and high tides.
Bicho D’água president and marine specialist Renata Emin told FocusOn News:
We’re still not sure how it landed here, but we’re guessing that the creature was floating close to the shore and the tide, which has been pretty considerable over the past few days, picked it up and threw it inland, into the mangrove.
Along with this astonishing feat, we are baffled as to what a humpback whale is doing on the north coast of Brazil during February because this is a very unusual occurrence.
She continued:
Humpback whales don’t usually travel to the north. We have a record of one appearing in the area three years ago, but it’s rare.
We believe this is a calf which may have been travelling with its mother and probably got lost or separated during the migratory cycle between the two continents.
As so much of the conservation regarding animal welfare revolves around pollution – particularly of the plastic variety – it remains to be seen whether the unusual behaviour has been caused by human activity or by a simple quirk of biology.
Forensic tests are being carried out.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.