The internet went a little crazy when it saw what appeared to be an unidentified creature in fuzzy photographs shared via smartphone by a fisherman from Zhejiang Province, China.
The fisherman was reeling in his net catches when he noticed an odd creature he’d never seen before. At first, it looks like some kind of alligator or crocodile, but a closer examination reveals it has a very smooth skin to it, more akin to a whale or dolphin.
The animal was reportedly already dead when it was caught with the net, hence why it was so lifeless in the filming of the catch.
Both local Chinese experts, and international marine life experts seem to be in agreeance that this is some kind of a beaked whale, which belongs to the Ziphiidae family. More details also reveal that the specimen caught in the net was rather small for its species and that it was probably a very young whale.
Beaked whales are deep-diving creatures that often dive more than 1,600 feet under the water surface. They are known to use echolocation to look for food, as there is little Sunlight at those depths. They also have to visit the surface frequently for air, just like any other whale species, as they are air-breathing mammals.
Nevertheless, the identification is still bittersweet because the animal was dead when it was found and it is unusual to find this species anywhere in the oceans surrounding China. It’s not thought that the animal is endangered in any way shape or form.
Source: DailyMail, Wikipedia