The dead humpback whale that has flown ashore off Öland has attracted a lot of attention.
There are several speculations about why it ended up there and why it died.
That the cool plastic, that climate change has been given the choice to navigate wrong and so on.
But according to whale expert Thomas Lyrholm, it is not very uncommon for humpback whales to appear in the Baltic Sea.
Once every two years, whales navigate into the Baltic Sea, either due to incorrect navigation, or in search of food.
On the other hand, it is unique that a dead humpback whale floats ashore on Öland.
- This is the first time it happens as far as I know, says Thomas Lyrholm to SVT.
Group of whales on the west coast
The whale, which is a young, probably belongs to a group of humpback whales that have recently been seen on the west coast.
Why it has been separated from its mother, however, can only be speculated, and the separation is also a possible cause of death.
- If it has been separated, it may have suffered from malnutrition and starved to death, says Thomas Lyrholm.
Humpback whales are currently migrating from their mating areas in the Caribbean as they swim towards the northern parts of the Atlantic. The goal is the Barents Sea off northern Norway where there are plenty of humpback whales. It is during that hike that humpback whales occasionally end up in the Baltic Sea.