Cape of Good Hope SPCA:

Today was a very sad day for our Wildlife Team. We received reports of an injured whale at Hout Bay Harbour and our team headed to the area immediately to assess the situation. Our hearts just sank when we arrived because this Dwarf Sperm Whale was extensively injured, weak and was no doubt suffering immensely.

According to research, whales often beach themselves when they are too sick or injured to swim and the currents carry them ashore where they suffer a slow and agonizing death as their organs shut down one by one. We knew that returning this Whale to the ocean would not be successful and would only add to the stress, pain and exhaustion that this animal was already experiencing.

We had no choice but to do the right thing for this whale no matter how hard it was for us. The only way to humanely end this whale’s suffering was by humane euthanasia, and in collaboration with the relevant authorities, this was carried out efficiently under our supervision. The SPCA will not allow any animal to suffer even if this means that we have to make difficult decisions like this when there is no other hope!

“The whale was euthanased in accordance with the marine mammal protocol. The decision was made by the City of Cape Town in consultation with Department Environment Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF).”

Each pygmy sperm whale has a sac filled with dark liquid in its intestine. The whale can release more than 3 gallons of dark, reddish-brown liquid, or “ink,” from this sac. The liquid creates a dark cloud in the water to help protect the whales when they feel threatened or are trying to escape predators.

In the Southern Hemisphere, pygmy sperm whales live in the Tasman Sea and the waters around Chile, South Africa, and Uruguay. In the Northern Hemisphere, they live in the waters around the Netherlands, northwestern Europe, the Azores, Nova Scotia, and Japan. Their migration patterns are currently unknown.