First report of a Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) stranding in the Gulf of Venezuela

• Main Authors: Espinoza-Rodriguez, Ninive, Barrios-Garrido, Hector
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedad Venezolana de Ecología 2021
• Subjects: Biology; Caribbean sea; cetaceans; indigenous communities; marine mammals; strandings; Cetaceae; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae
• Online Access: http://erevistas.saber.ula.ve/index.php/ecotropicos/article/view/E0018; https://doi.org/10.53157/ecotropicos.33E0018

On February 04th, 2009, we recorded a male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Gulf of Venezuela. This animal was found stranded alive by a few neighbouring fishers and died minutes later in Kazuzain village (11°36’08.5” N - 71°55’42.7”W), located in Venezuelan portion of the Güajira Peninsula at Zulia state. The specimen was a sub-adult male, with total length of 10.5 m and width of 3.04 ± 0.27 m. This is the first record of this species in the Gulf of Venezuela.This study allows us contributing to insight of biology and ecology to marine mammals across Gulf of Venezuela, where details of large cetaceans remain somewhat opaque.