Sunday, December 30, 2012

Whale Rider

NOT the stuff of movies...
In USA, Miami authorities are trying to find a man who...no, let's be straight up about this...a bloody IDIOT photographed off the Florida coast riding on the back of a female sperm whale, an endangered species.
The marine mammal, which is distinguished from other types of whale by its enormous head, was found dead a few days later on a beach north of Miami. Authorities are investigating the causes of its death.
The sperm whale, 9m long and weighing 30 tonnes, was still alive when the as-yet-unidentified man was photographed sitting on its back. The pictures also show another swimmer trying to climb up on it.
Experts believe the whale could have been sick and dying as it swam, which may explain why it had come so close to land, and why the man was able to clamber onto its back. However the experts are not ruling out the possibility that the two men tormented it, raising its stress level to the point of contributing to its death.
US federal law bans tormenting marine mammals, as well as interfering with any animal in danger of extinction, alive or dead.

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