THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF A STRANDING OF A BRYDE’S WHALE BALAENOPTERA EDENI ANDERSON, 1879 (MYSTICETI: BALAENOPTERIDAE), IN THE PARAGUAÇU RIVER, TODOS OS SANTOS BAY, BAHIA, BRAZIL
Keywords:
Todos os Santos bay, Balaenoptera edeni, Brazil, stranding, riverAbstract
Documented strandings of Balaenoptera edeni on the Brazilian coast are still rare, especially in the Northeast region, and these records represent important sources of information in respect of whale biology and ecology. On September 30th, 1981, a Bryde’s whale entered Todos os Santos bay and got stranded alive approximately 9 miles up the Paraguaçu River, in Maragojipe city, Bahia, Brazil. It was a pregnant, adult female, approximately 47ft. in length. The whale was slaughtered by fishermen and local inhabitants and served as food to the local population. Among the contents of its stomach was found an enormous shoal of pititinga anchovies (Engraulidae). This note represents the first recorded stranding of B. edeni in Bahia State, and also the first incident of a stranded whale in a river, in Brazil. Strandings of Bryde’s whales in bays, gulfs, rivers and estuaries, especially near coastal areas with high productivity of shoals, may be more common than imagined.
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References
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