Scientists find conjoined twin gray whales

Scientists in Mexico have found what is believed to be the first documented case of conjoined-twin gray whales.

Researchers found the twins, who share a single body and have two heads, on 6 January on the Baja California peninsula where whales often come to give birth, Petethomasoutdoors.com reports.

The twins did not survive and their body was collected for study.

American Cetacean Society researcher Alisa Schulman-Jangier said the twins’ underdeveloped carcass suggested their mother may have miscarried.

The carcass was only 2.1m long, compared to the normal length of newborn gray whales of between 3.6m and 4.8m.

Gray whales grow up to 14.9m and live in Arctic waters.

They travel more than 9600kms to lagoons on the Baja Peninsula to give birth before migrating back to the Arctic.

Conjoined twin whales have been documented in other species, including fin, sei, and minke whales but it is believed to be the first case discovered in a gray whale.

Author: Alys Francis. Approving editor: Matthew Henry.
Source: Pete Thomas Outdoors.