A dead whale was found Friday afternoon floating in Sami Bay of the island of Cephalonia Friday afternoon. The mammal was spotted by a fisherman and scientists and the port authorities of the island were alerted. During a nocturnal operation, the dead whale was carried to the port, where it remains.

The specially trained and equipped team of Archipelago Institute experts, on the island to examine the carcass, took biopsies and collected other evidence that may reveal what killed the whale. But there are no signs of injury on the body of the cetacean, which measures 15.5 meters, so it will be difficult to determine the cause of death.

“It would seem to be a young whale,” said Theodoris Tsibidis, manager of the Archipelago Institute. Adult whales are 16-18 meters long and live as long as 70 years, but 40 or 50 years is the usual lifespan. So it seems that the whale of Cephalonia had just gone through puberty.

“Cephalonia sits in the middle of one of the most remarkable whale journeys, which starts in the Adriatic Sea and ends beyond the western coast of the southern Peloponnese. This journey is not very long because the whales can travel incredibly far.”

But dangers lurk. Yiannis Katsikas, a researcher with the Archipelago Institute, said, “There are various causes of whales’ death in Greek seas. The whales are particularly susceptible to blows from ships, which can cause serious injuries and death. It sometimes happens during naval exercises. The whales can also be poisoned by algal toxins.”

The dead mammal of Cephalonia was one of the few remaining sperm whales which live in the Hellenic Trench of the Ionian Sea. “It’s not common to see a 15.5 meter whale floating dead in the sea,” said Makis Pollatos, the fisherman who found the whale.