Stranded whale in Kolding Fjord
Remember the autopsy of the whale in Kolding harbor last year?
On a cold day in January 2022, Kolding became the center of a somewhat unusual event here in Denmark. An unusual event that fascinated, but at the same time aroused great interest among the town’s citizens and nature lovers from all over the country. The whale, known as Kolding’s Hvalborg, a large beaked whale of almost 7 meters and weighing 3 tons, was stranded and later died in Kolding Fjord. The whale was quickly towed into Kolding Harbor, which attracted a lot of attention in the city.
Why did the beaked whale perish?
Was it stranded, as first thought, or had it fallen ill? These were the questions asked on the day by biologists and spectators alike. Questions that could only be answered by dissection and autopsy.
Therefore, the dissection of the beaked whale took place on the North Quay on a chilly Friday morning, and even though the weather was cold, the beaked whale attracted the interest of the assembled audience. Biologists and marine scientists worked together to both ensure a proper autopsy and to find the causes of the great beaked whale’s death. The whale was therefore transported to the quay where the autopsy started.
See more pictures of the whale on Facebook here
A thorough autopsy with an audience
The investigation started with a visual inspection of the whale. It was discovered that the whale was a rare canine lizard, a species of beaked whale. The real autopsy then began. The first step was to measure the fat layer of the calf, precisely to check its health and age, but also, in fact, to study the whale’s food intake.
Afterwards, the intestines were analyzed, and finally the whale was dismembered in front of the many spectators, while TV SYD broadcast live from the dissection of the whale in the fjord.
In fact, on the day, it was not possible to determine the cause of death of the whale, but since then, after a more thorough analysis and autopsy, a number of scientists have come up with their own explanation as to why the large døgling died in the fjord. The whale in Kolding had strayed into Kolding Fjord and subsequently died, according to an article published by Naturpark Lillebælt at the end of January 2022.
Death as a result of delusion
It would have crossed most people’s minds that the whale died as a result of illness or old age. In fact, it turned out that the youngster was around 15 years old, sexually mature and had been pregnant three times. The baby was not seriously ill and had no serious infections or plastic in its stomach.
The scientists’ suggestion was that the deaf child died as a result of delusion. First of all, the beaked whale was far away from its natural environment in the North Atlantic. This affected both its echolization due to the shallow water depths to which diurnals are not accustomed. At the same time, the chick was also unable to consume its usual food, which usually consists of cephalopods and other invertebrates. Once a whale loses its sense of orientation, it becomes easily stressed, leading to cellular degradation and organ failure, according to Naturpark Lillebælt.
However, it is not known why the young fish found their way to Kolding Fjord in the first place. A mystery that must remain unsolved for now.
What happened to the whale?
Perhaps you’re wondering where the rest of the baby go?
Large parts of the beaked whale went for autopsy and examination on the day of the autopsy, but in fact, most of the bones were taken to the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, while the skull was taken to Aarhus to be scanned. The skull is still in a so-called queue for scanning and the skeleton is still some way from being ready for exhibition. We’ll have to wait a little longer to see the remains of the whale again. However, Ib Clausen, biologist and project manager in Kolding, hopes to get the whale back so that the skeleton can be exhibited in the town where the whale spent its last hours.
NOTE: Did you know that it is fortunately rare for us to be visited by the fantastic 24-hour creatures here in Denmark? We say fortunately, now that our seas make it impossible for them to survive here in Denmark for any length of time.
In 1997, a male lizard strayed into shallow water near Tåsinge. Unfortunately, the whale also died shortly afterwards. Again in 2000, a larger døgling came into shallow water at Lynæs in the Isefjord, but this time the whale was actually pushed out into deeper water and out to the Kattegat.
Visit Kolding Port
It is always possible to spend time at the inner harbor, where we make an extra effort to make the environment more pleasant, especially in spring and summer. Visit our harbor today or check our Facebook page for upcoming events.
See the international students’ portrait of the whale here
The video is in English, but shows a unique perspective of the whale in Kolding Fjord. Watch the full video below