– We assess that it has slowly lost the hole, and that it has been going on for several weeks that it lost weight, says Norbert van de Velde, pathologist at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, SVA.
The autopsy was done at a recycling center in Lysekil on Friday. There, the pathologists from SVA were able to determine that the dead killer whale was almost seven meters long and weighed 2.8 tons – a weight that should have been twice that.
– It was very thin, and a killer whale shouldn’t be. We judge that it was not doing very well, says Norbert van de Velde.
Died at an old age
Samples from the orca will now be analyzed and only in a few weeks can a more certain cause of death be established. But it is already clear that it was an old choice.
– It had very worn teeth, so worn that it should have been in pain and difficult to get food in, says Norbert van de Velde.
Natural history in Stockholm wants the skull
The National Museum of Natural History announced today that they hope to transport the orca’s skull to Stockholm to preserve the bones.
– It will be the largest orca skull we have had in 60 years. But the skull weighs between half and a ton, so it can be a bit tricky to get it up, says Linnea Cervin at the National Museum of Natural History to TT.
The museum, together with SVA, has a mission from the Norwegian Sea and Water Authority to monitor marine mammals and their health.