LIHU‘E — A humpback whale sporting an accentuated curved back, spotted Monday off Port Allen, wasn’t necessarily hit by a vessel, according to an official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We don’t know for sure, any number of
LIHU‘E — A humpback whale sporting an accentuated curved back, spotted Monday off Port Allen, wasn’t necessarily hit by a vessel, according to an official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“We don’t know for sure, any number of things could’ve happened,” NOAA marine mammal response coordinator David Schofield said. “It could be scoliosis, which is any curvature on the back.”
Schofield, however, didn’t discard a vessel collision, saying the animal could have been hit in an early stage, and then got an infection that caused the scoliosis.
Humpback whales are usually dark gray or black, with white spots and patches. The whale spotted by flight instructor Gerry Charlebois had a much different color pattern.
“The white coloration with the dark patches, and the whale lice on the patches, is definitely a sign of not being healthy,” said Schofield, adding that the whale could have swam all the way from Alaska even if it was already sick.
