Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 119, November 2014, pp. 1-13. | Page 5

5

After examining the biological samples taken in the first 24 hours after the death
of the whale, the expert team will conduct a full autopsy on the carcass on
04.03.2014 to determine whether there were any disorders in the functions of its
liver and other organs of the whale, he noted. The EPA-led examinations are
conducted in collaboration with the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish
Resources (PAAFR), Kuwait Municipality, the Scientific Center and Kuwait Oil
Company, Eng. Al-Enezi went on.
He thanked the ministries of defense and interior for the great support they
offered to the EPA efforts.
The EPA has great technical potentials which enabled it to handle similar
incidents successfully in the past.
The 14-meter long fin whale was found dead on the shores of Failaka Island on
Friday 28.02.2014. This type of whales is the second largest mammal animal on
Earth after the blue whale; its length could reach 24 meters in the northern
hemisphere and 27 meters in the southern hemisphere (KUNA, 03.03.2014).

The 14-meter Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus Linnaeus, 1758) which was stranded on
the Kuwaiti Failaka Island on Friday 28.02.2014. http://www.q8ping.com/64403.html
The only undersea earthquake that could have injured this whale occurred in the
Arabian Sea about 2,000 miles upstream from Kuwait at 11 p.m. at night on
13.02.2014. It was extremely shallow (3 km) and very whale dangerous (Capt.
David Williams, 2014).
Magnitude mb 5.2
Region
CARLSBERG RIDGE
Date time 2014-02-13 18:57:35.0 UTC
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 119 – November 2014