Biologists have filmed a 17-metre fin whale with severe scoliosis swimming off the coast of Valencia, Spain. This was reported by the Valencia Oceanographic Foundation on its Facebook page (the owner, Meta, was considered extremist and banned in Russia).
The fin whale was first spotted by the captain of a local yacht. He believed the animal was struggling to swim, possibly caught in a fishing net. When the biologists and veterinarians arrived on the scene, it was understood that the fin whale was not entangled in the net and was acting strangely due to scoliosis. A serious curvature of the spine was detected in the images taken from the drone.
Biologists wanted to attach a tracker to the whale, but the twisted spine made it impossible. A few hours later, the fin whale barely left the coastline. The animal was in severe pain and could not move its tail normally. Despite fatigue and whale lice, the fin whale traveled thousands of kilometers to migrate.
Scientists believe that the spine of a fin whale may be deformed after a collision with a ship. Last year, drone cameras tracked a humpback whale with a broken spine. Despite injury and pain, he swam from northern British Columbia to Hawaii.
Scoliosis can also be a congenital anomaly. In 2005, a killer whale was born in British Columbia with scoliosis affecting its ability to swim and hunt. He died young.