Authorities last weekend discovered the carcass of a huge finback whale in the Mediterranean Sea. The fin whale, or Balaenoptera physalus, is the second largest animal species on Earth. It measures 20 meters in length and is estimated at more than 77 tons, one of the largest ever discovered.
The estimated length and weight make it one of the largest whale corpses ever found in the Mediterranean Sea. The whale was discovered when a calf swam in the port of Sorrento in a state of distress. Coast Guard officials say the plane hit its head on the harbor wall several times before retreating to the bottom of the sea.
Divers were dispatched and followed the calf under the water and discovered the whale’s corpse. Authorities assume the calf is the son of the deceased whale. Marine biologists were called in to determine what killed the whale. Whales can grow up to 25 meters in length and 80 tons.
They are considered an endangered species and are species that were wiped out by commercial whaling in the last century. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that today the biggest threat to attackers is attacks from boats. It is not clear at this point whether a boat attack was what killed this particular whale.
Anyone wondering what the biggest animal on Earth would be would be a blue whale. Blue whales are the largest known animal in history and can reach up to 33 meters in length. The largest specimens weigh up to 150 tons. To put this in perspective, more than twice the length of a school bus and three times as heavy as a large tractor and trailer.