Friday, March 24, 2023
By Outer Banks Voice on January 26, 2023
(Courtesy of NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island)
1/26/23: The NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island reports that a juvenile sei whale that was discovered on the shore in Kitty Hawk on Thursday, Jan. 26 had to be euthanized.
Here are the details.
On Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m., a report was received of a live sei whale in Kitty Hawk, NC. The whale wasĀ 678 cm in length (about 22 ft).Ā Itās a small juvenile whale, possibly born during the most recent breeding cycle. Partners in the OBX Marine Mammal Stranding Network responded to assess and ultimately euthanize the whale.
The whale will be securedĀ overnight,Ā and a necropsy will be conducted Friday, Jan. 27. Necropsy will be conducted by team members fromĀ NCWRC, NC Aquarium/ Jennetteās Pier,Ā NC State CMAST, NC DMF, UNCW, and the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Center.Ā The cause of the stranding isnāt known yet, but the team hopes that the necropsy exam will provide some information.
Since 2002, there have been three sei whale strandings along the Atlantic Coast of the Southeast Region (all three were in North Carolina). The most recent strandingĀ was in January 2019 in Hanover County, NC.
The sei whale is listed as endangered under theĀ Endangered Species Act. The species is also designated asĀ depletedĀ under theĀ Marine Mammal Protection Act. The total population of sei whales in all U.S. waters is unknown.
Sei whales grow to 40 to 60Ā feet.
Notice of Public Auction
The public will take notice that the Dare County Tourism Board, at its meeting of October 20, 2022, adopted Resolution 2022-5 authorizing the sale of surplus personal property by public auction.
Saturday, April 1, 2023.
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10am: Back of the House Auction – Complete Commercial Kitchen
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2pm: Front of the House Auction ā Selling Everything in the Building + Architectural Salvage by room
Partial List: Antique ships wheel chandelier, Nautical & pirate decor, sword & pistol displays, polyword tables & chairs, ship models, nautical lanterns, art, commercial bar equipment, tables and chairs, NC decoys, fish mounts, signal cannon, architectural salvage, Several bars, pirate bar & more.
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Comments
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Leslie
That baby whale is still very much alive! An all call should have been sent out for people to help it go back to the ocean, live or die.
Letting an endangered species lay on the beach to die without help is sad!!
No one knows why it was on the beach and to assume it was sick is premature and reckless.
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
Leslie, we should find out the condition of the whale when the necropsy is done tomorrow.
Thea ONeil
Why was this whale euthanized?!? Was there even an effort to save it? I went to see it at 7:00 pm and it was still VERY much alive, just sad and struggling. I would appreciate more details about this and would hope that Dare County would be more prepared to handle situations like this and try to save endangered species instead of killing them.
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
Thea, we are awaiting an update from the aquarium. Will post new info as soon as we have it.
Just a mom
I agree Leslie.
Being a farmer and a breeder of animalsā¦ at all costā¦ without pride or arrogance beg for help (whether it is by hand or intellectual knowledge on the matter) to aid in the survival of the innocent and then if there is no other way end the suffering.
I think enough hands and minds could have helped that baby somehow, someway back to water even if death came to it there. It has zero chance in the position it was in on beach. I am sorry baby.
Thea ONeil
I donāt want to wait for the results of the necropsy, I want to know WHY the decision was made to euthanize! Journalism requires detailsā¦ And the fact that this whale was left to die is infuriating as much a as d heartbreaking!
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
We will post an update as soon as we get one from the aquarium.
Tom Jones
Join us on Defend Brigantine Beach on FB. We must cooperate to put an immediate halt to these deadly, massive intrusions of hypersonic geotechnical surveys in preparation of 1000+ feet tall wind turbines! The planned industrialization of our God given oceans is not for sale to foreign companies to profit from at our expense!
Billsnc
Do otherwise healthy whales beach themselves? Maybe disorientation or other issues from sonar pings from subs or other vessels?