UPDATE: This is an old post, and the Blazer was replaced! While we no longer need these wheels, the needs of the program continue. Please check out our donations page for opportunities to contribute money, resources and time to the Cape Lookout Studies Program.

On or before January 30, 2004 a 33½ foot male sperm whale washed ashore dead on the west (ocean) beach of Power Squadron Spit near Cape Lookout. The whale was closely examined by NOAA scientists and NC State veterinarians and others to try and determine cause of death but none was found.

Portions of the whale will be saved for research and education.

• Adult sperm whales range in length from 50-40 feet, males being longer then females. The size of the stranded whale, 33½ feet, may indicate this whale was a young male just past the age of being weaned.

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  tooth

  Sperm whales have long life spans, some living as long as 70 years.

• The blowhole on a sperm whale is located on the left side toward the very front of the head.

• Teeth occur only on the lower jaw of a sperm whale. Some teeth have been measured at eight inches in length.

• Sperm whales are deep divers of the ocean. A single dive might last from 30 minutes to an hour in length.

• Sperm whales inhabit both the northern and southern hemispheres. These whales migrate north and south with the seasons within their respective regions.

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  atlas

  Squids of various sizes are the primary food of these large whales; the largest of all the known toothed whales.

• Parts of the sperm whale were once used by humans, making this whale one of the most frequently hunted whales during the peak of the whaling industry. Spermaceti, an oil located within the large head, was used for heating and lighting purposes. Some Scientists suggest that the spermaceti is used by these whales as part of their sound system. Ambergris, a waxy, gray substance formed in the intestines wherever a squid beak, the one hard indigestible part of the squid, occurs. Ambergris was used in the production of expensive perfume.

• As of 31 December 1994, sperm whales were listed as endangered and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

spermaceti

hyoid bone

spinal column

Humpback Whale sighted off Shackleford Banks

On January 8, 2004 as we were running our bottlenose dolphin survey route along the offshore side of Shackleford Banks Nan saw something big in the distance. We quickly realized that we were looking at a whale. We changed our directions and went about a mile offshore where we saw a humpback whale heading south. Keith took these 2 pictures and we continued with our bottlenose dolphin survey.