Adam Hartman
22 April 2008
Windhoek — A six-metre-long fin whale washed ashore at the Jakkalsputz campsite near Henties Bay over the weekend.
The animal was dead, with a thick rope tied around its tail. Witnesses speculated that the whale might have been a victim of whaling.
Sharon Nel, who lives at Henties Bay about 10 km from the campsite, told The Namibian that the whale also had a steel cable entangled in its mouth which she tried to remove.
Dr Hannes Holzhauzen of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources at Swakopmund said the whale was found dead in the port of Walvis Bay on Friday.
He said the animal was towed out to sea, and the current apparently swept it north to Jakkalsputz.
He dismissed rumours that there was a harpoon stuck in the whale's body, adding that the rope around its tail came from the vessel that towed it out of the harbour.
Mola Mola Safaris' Megan Dreyer, who found the whale and reported it to the port authority, said it was not clear what had caused the animal's death.
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