Whale Suffering From Extreme Scoliosis Spotted Off the Coast Of Spain
Malorie Thompson
We often hear about people who are struggling with scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine. However, it's also something that can affect animals - including whales!
A whale off the coast of Spain was recently spotted with a severe form of scoliosis. In fact, it was so bad that a well-meaning bystander called the Oceanographic Foundation and National Guard for help, believing the whale was trapped in a net.
Photo: The foundation shared about the 40-ton whale on Facebook, explaining that they responded to the scene believing they were going to help a whale entangled in a drift net.
The whale was swimming near Cullera Beach, but it wasn't actually entangled. Instead, it appeared to have a sharp curve to its spine, creating a unique and distressing appearance.
Photo: Biologists and veterinarians confirmed that the animal wasn't trapped, and instead was suffering from a serious spinal deviation; "a scoliosis of unknown origin that altered his natural anatomy."
The foundation wrote in its Facebook post (translated): "Due to the magnitude of the whale, being in the open sea and its malformation, it was not possible to place a remote tracker on it to obtain more detailed data on its condition, its biology and its trajectory."
Photo: They're hoping that if the whale is sighted again, they'll be able to observe it better and perhaps fit it with a tracker.
You can see the whale for yourself in the video below:
