Sperm Whale Washes Up on Fort Morgan Beach

Sperm Whale Washes Up on Fort Morgan Beach

Representatives from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab are still investigating the cause of death of a 30-40 ft. sperm whale carcass found washed up on the beach near The Beach Club on Fort Morgan over the holidays. Sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These animals usually inhabit deep offshore waters, making strandings in shallow areas somewhat rare. The last sperm whale beaching in Alabama was in 2020. Such incidents often suggest the whales are in poor health or distress, and the whale was decomposed and severely scavenged, making identifying the cause of death more difficult. Male sperm whales can reach up to 62 feet in length, females can be up to 39 feet long, and they are known as deep divers, commonly reaching a depth of about 1,150 feet. A 60-foot-long male sperm whale weighs more than 50 tons. Sperm whales may dive for an hour or more, then spend about 10 minutes at the surface breathing once every 10 seconds. They mostly feed on octopus.