By Adéle Land
Las Ventanicas beach in Mojacar came under the spotlight this week after the body of a whale was washed up.
The animal, a 4.3 metre-long ‘Curvier’s Beaked Whale’ (Ziphius Cavirostris), was spotted on the beach Tuesday morning by a passer-by who called the 112 emergency services.
Local police officers and a team of experts from the marine-rescue group Equinac were dispatched to the area where the mammal was identified and measurements were taken.
Although the animal had suffered some damage, it was sufficiently intact in order for the Equinac team to perform a necropsy.
Employees from Mojacar council moved the carcass to the other end of the beach where the area was cordoned off.
The necropsy took around three hours, during which various samples of organs were taken which will be tested to try to establish the cause of death.
