Authorities have revealed whether a dead humpback whale is a beloved Migaloo white whale after its corpse was razed to the ground.
The corpse of a humpback whale that swept east of Victoria is not the beloved white whale Migaloo.
On Saturday, confrontational photos of the whale’s body appeared on a Mallacoota beach in East Gippsland, fueling fears that it could be the famous animal.
But the Victoria Department of Environment, Territory, Water and Planning has confirmed that the dead whale is not Migaloo after examining the images of the scene.
DELWP agents have examined images of the dead humpback whale in Mallacoota and confirmed that it is a subadult female. Migaloo is a man, ”DELWP regional agency commander Peter Bick said Sunday.
“DELWP and Parks Victoria staff will further evaluate the canal over the next few days.”
Scientists and officials had been working to determine if the dead whale is Migaloo by taking a genetic sample from the body and photographing the tail to compare it to previous images.
The public has been told to stay 300 meters from the canal as it is an infraction.
Wildlife scientist Dr. Vanessa Pirotta and the White Whale Research Center team had said Sunday before it was likely another whale.
“Right now we’ve come to a very, not 100% conclusion … this could be another whale and not Migaloo,” Dr. Pirotta told ABC News on Sunday.
“Genetic testing will tell us essentially 100% whether it’s Migaloo or not. But right now, the team and I have been working on an initial assessment, we’re not in the field just based on what we’re seeing, it’s which most likely will not (Migaloo).
“We are preparing the puzzle, but it seems that at this stage, without genetic testing, Migaloo is not likely to be around 50%, but I will say with caution that we need genetic testing.”
The Marine Mammal Foundation also said that “an early assessment of the genus and skin degradation suggests it is not Migaloo.”
Dr. Pirotta cited darkened skin and barnacles in the throat as key features they found while evaluating the images.
“It looks like it’s very likely to be a white whale or at least a whale that has had a darker pigmentation that has potentially fainted, and crawled on the ground and withstood overtime,” he said.
“When you can see the barnacles attached to that black area, that indicates it was outer skin.”
Migaloo has brought joy to Australians and people around the world for decades, with thousands crying out on the east coast over the years in hopes of spotting the rare animal.
It is estimated that he was born in 1986 and was first seen in Byron Bay in 1991.
Until 2011, it was believed to be the only white whale in the world and there are only three or four more left.
Migaloo’s name means “white man” in several indigenous languages and there are special Queensland and Commonwealth laws to protect him because of his uniqueness.
It has not been officially seen since 2020 after losing its tracking chip.
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