A Humpback Whale Was Just Found In The Middle Of The Amazon Rainforest And No One Knows How It Got There

Even though South American rainforests are home to some of the planet's greatest biodiversity, whales are not often linked with them.

According to a post by the Brazilian conservation organisation Bicho D'água, the corpse of an 8-meter (26-foot) humpback whale was discovered last Friday in the mangrove woods of northern Brazil.

The beached whale, which was thought to be barely a year old, was discovered on Marajó Island, the biggest island created by river sediments in the world, 15 metres (49 feet) from the river beach. The humpback whale most likely washed into the Amazon River mouth and was deposited on land when the tides receded.

According to the Brazilian news site O Tempo, a team of specialists travelled to the region over the weekend in an effort to determine the cause of death. In order to learn more about the bizarre incident, samples will be taken from the carcass over the next few days. They intend to bury the remains ultimately.

A type of baleen whale known as the humpback whale may reach lengths of up to 16 metres (52 ft). The IUCN Red List lists this species as endangered, despite the fact that its population numbers seem to be increasing. Their distinctive and dispersed populations play a significant role in this. Some researchers even contend that the humpback whales found in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Hemisphere should be considered distinct subspecies.

They have a wide range that covers the majority of the waters around the world, including the entrance to the Amazon basin, where this whale was found. Each year, they are known to travel tens of thousands of kilometres to reproduce and give birth after grazing in arctic waters.

At this time of year, humpbacks are not often seen in this region. The juvenile animal is therefore thought to have become separated from its pod during migration and ultimately perished as a result of stress.

Marine mammals can get stranded for a number of causes, from environmental issues, such as bad weather, to illness. One of the more intriguing hypotheses regarding whale strandings contends that strong bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun known as solar storms may be interfering with the animals' internal compasses.

Shipboard sonar is frequently mentioned as a possible cause of cetacean strandings. Recent studies have demonstrated how distress brought on by sonar may modify the diving habits of some whale species. Decompression sickness sometimes referred to as the bends, is a condition where nitrogen bubbles accumulate in the blood as a result of this.