Learning About the Sei Whale

I've been watching the reports about the dead sei whale that washed onto the beach in Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood last weekend with great interest.  As much as I know about local wildlife, there is a lot I don't know about this particular species of whale.

First, I wasn't even sure I was pronouncing the name correctly.  I had to look it up on Dictionary.com before going on the air with the story.  It rhymes with "day."  According to the American Cetacean Society, the name is derived from the Norwegian word for pollock, a fish that appears off the coast of Norway at the same time of year as the sei whale.  Incidentally, I would have been completely wrong in pronouncing the name of the sei's cousin, the Bryde's whale.  It's pronounced "broodus."

Secondly, I wasn't aware that the sei whale was even seen off the Virginia coast that often.  Humpback whales are regular visitors here during the winter; this year has been one of the best for whale watching, officials at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center say.  Sei whales are apparently not as showy as the playful humpbacks, but they do frequent our coast, I've learned.  A sei washed up on the beach at Sandbridge just last year, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

In both dead whale cases, the animal was likely killed by a collision with a ship.  The 42-foot long beached whale in Norfolk has an obvious head wound.  Marine scientists are conducting a necropsy to determine the cause of death.  Norfolk will bury the carcass.

It's too bad that a whale had to die in order for me and others to become educated about them.  Still, the whale carcass was quite a tourist attraction Sunday and Monday, with hundreds heading to the beach to photograph it.  Perhaps some science teachers changed their lesson plans this week, to include a few facts about the sei whale.