Africa-Press – Namibia. THE stranding of what some described to be a baby humpback whale near Swakopmund on Thursday caused a stir as motorists stopped to take a closer look.
The whale was stranded at Vierkantklip, south of Swakopmund.
“It’s alive, but barely,” Swakopmund resident Roger McClune, who was at the site, said last week.
“It’s sad,” he said.
The Namibian Dolphin Project could not be reached for comment on the incident.
In May this year, Bridget James, a researcher at the Namibian Dolphin Project, said humpback whales migrate along Africa’s west coast from the Antarctic waters where they feed, to the warmer waters towards the equator to breed between May and August.
They stop over in the vicinity of Walvis Bay, which they consider a safe alcove.
The incidence of whales stranding along Namibia’s coast is not uncommon.
Before the latest incident, an eight-metre juvenile male whale beached at the Canopy fishing area north of Cape Cross, which had seemingly starved to death.
James says starvation is the most common cause of stranding.
There have also been incidents of animals which have seemingly been injured by ship propellers, causing them to beach or wash ashore after dying at sea.
Police and municipal traffic officers on Thursday had to ensure the safe flow of traffic near the site.
Law-enforcement officers, as well as environmentalists, continue to urge the public to avoid encroaching on animals’ space, which can cause more trauma and ultimately lead to their death.
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