Overview
- Specialists from the Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE) inspected a 14-meter adult humpback whale stranded on Sombrero Chico beach in Mejía, Arequipa and recorded a 3.2-meter pectoral fin and a 2.3-meter caudal fin.
- IMARPE said the carcass was in an advanced state of decomposition that made a necropsy impossible and prevented a full external check for wounds or fishing gear marks.
- Researchers collected skin and fin samples that are now pending laboratory analysis, and IMARPE has not determined a cause of death.
- IMARPE noted that humpback strandings increase during the species' May–November migration to tropical and subtropical breeding areas, which raises the chance of interactions with vessels and fishing activity.
- Authorities urged people to avoid touching stranded animals, to report sightings to officials, and said data from this case could still inform conservation efforts if lab tests reveal disease, trauma, or human-related causes.