image sourced from original article at A rare sperm whale carcass washed ashore on Zikim beach in southern Israel, marking only the eighth recorded instance of such a discovery along the country's coastline. Marine experts from the University of Haifa and the Delphis marine mammal protection organization are conducting a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
Researchers note that sightings of live sperm whales in the region have increased since 2020, a trend that corresponds with a rise in stranded carcasses. The Mediterranean population is estimated at between 250 and 2,500 individuals and is considered endangered, with numbers continuing to decline.
This population is genetically distinct and isolated from its Atlantic counterparts, even possessing a unique pattern of clicking sounds used for communication. Major threats include entanglement in drift nets, underwater gas and oil surveys that disrupt feeding and hearing, and ingestion of plastic waste, which particularly affects sperm whales.
