Kategorie: News
Vehicle hits marine mammal – animal later discovered on sandbank
Last Saturday, a tragic incident involving both animals and humans occurred off the US East Coast, more precisely in Barnegat Bay south of New York. A group of boaters were out in small motorboats when they suddenly collided with a live minke whale. The nearly six-meter-long animal later died on a nearby sandbar after being seriously injured in the collision.
The incident caused considerable commotion. A woman was thrown into the water during the collision and the small boat briefly threatened to capsize. Fortunately, the woman was unharmed. Witnesses report that the collision was hardly noticed at first. A video shared on social media shows the whale swimming for a while after the impact before it was found dead on a sandbank.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) was initially only able to examine the carcass from a distance. An on-site investigation is planned in the near future to determine the exact cause of death. According to the team's initial assessment, there were no obvious injuries visible on the visible side of the mollusk. However, it is possible that it had sustained injuries prior to the collision, as suggested by another video showing a second collision with a pontoon boat.
The animal was towed to a sandbank in a nearby nature reserve, where it will be examined more closely. The authorities are urging boaters to avoid the area and keep at least 45 meters away from marine mammals. They are also asked to report sightings of the marine mammals directly to the MMSC to prevent similar accidents in the future.
Dangers to marine mammals
The minke whale, also known as Balaenoptera acutorostrata, is the smallest species of rorqual whale. Adult animals can reach a length of up to ten meters and weigh several tons. Despite their generally low threat status, they are considered particularly vulnerable to shipping traffic. This is because fast-moving ships pose one of the greatest dangers to marine mammals worldwide. Studies show that over 90 percent of the habitats of large whales overlap with heavily trafficked shipping routes. Even small sailboats can cause serious injuries in collisions.
The danger posed by ships is so great that many animals are injured or killed unnoticed – often only when they are washed ashore. Large cargo ships and fast ferries are particularly dangerous due to their speed, as animals are often unable to avoid them in time, especially when breathing or resting. In the past, marine conservation organizations have documented more than 100 collisions between whales and ships, and the trend is rising.
Environmental groups and scientists are repeatedly calling for measures such as speed limits for ships in whale areas and designated avoidance routes to significantly reduce the number of collisions. Initial studies show that protective measures in smaller marine areas can already help to reduce these tragic incidents and secure the population of marine mammals.
The current case in Barnegat once again highlights how dangerous shipping is for the sensitive wildlife along the US Atlantic coast. It is to be hoped that consistent measures and stricter controls will prevent such tragic accidents from happening in the future.