Workers of Russia's Komandorsky Nature Reserve, located on the remote Commander Islands in the Pacific Ocean, recently discovered the carcass of a 13-meter humpback whale, the reserve's official Instagram page revealed on Tuesday.
According to the institution's press service, specialists then measured the animal's carcass and took tissue samples from the whale for further research.
According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the official newspaper of Russia's government, finding dead whales stranded by waves on the Commander Islands is not such a rare event, with sea mammals found beached every year. After they die, tides bring their bodies to the coast of the sparsely populated region.
The Commander Islands are a group of sparsely populated islands in the Bering Sea and are the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands, located in the strait between Russia and the US. The region's main settlement, Nikolskoye, is inhabited by less than 1,000 people.
The humpback whale, found in oceans and seas around the world, is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as not being endangered. While its population was threatened in the early 20th century, a moratorium on whale hunting has led to its population growing to around 80,000.
If you like this story, share it with a friend!