A dead bottlenose whale was discovered on the beach in inner Njardvík on Reykjanes peninsula, southwest Iceland, on Monday. It was a seven-meter-long male, which, according to whale scientist Gísli Víkingsson, was not fully grown.
“Bottlenose whales live in the depth of the oceans and often appear to get into trouble when they reach shallower waters and get stranded,” Víkingsson told Morgunbladid. “It is probably the whale species that most often gets stranded in Iceland.”
Young Njardvík residents Una María, Benedikt Jens, Jón Páll and Ísak John posing in front of the stranded whale. Photos by Jóna Gudrún Jónsdóttir.
Bottlenose whales are toothed whales and, along with sperm whales, dive deeper than any other whale species. They can hold their breaths for more than an hour. They live in the waters around Iceland, but are rare north of the island.
