Stranding of Sooty’s middle-beaked whale in the UK: a marine ecological wake-up call

On November 2, 2024, a rare carcass of a Sooty mid-beaked whale was seen on Wyke Regis Beach in Dorset, England. This is the eighth recorded sighting of this deep-sea cetacean in British waters, which is extremely rare. The stranding is of great concern to scientists and marine conservation organizations, as Sooty’s medium-beaked whales typically live at depths of up to 2,000 meters, far from the continental shelf and rarely near coastal areas. The carcass was subsequently sent to London Zoo, where a team of scientists conducted an autopsy and analyzed it in an attempt to reveal the exact cause of its death.