Last week staff from the Húsavík Whale Museum ventured to Eyjafjörður to take a closer look at a whale carcass on the beach below the farm Neðri-Dálksstaðir, as reported by mbl:
https://www.mbl.is/200milur/frettir/2024/03/26/hvalshrae_i_fjorunni_nordan_svalbardseyrar/.
After hiking down to the beach accompanied by some locals, the whale carcass was clearly visible, although the high tide had submerged it.
The weather was cold and snowy, and a flock of northern fulmars could be seen sitting around it, occasionally pecking at the dead body.
The carcass was of a small humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), discolored from the decomposition.
It seems more than likely that the carcass is the same one spotted in Hrísey island last March, as reported by Vísir: https://www.visir.is/g/20242541562d/hrae-hnufu-baks-i-hris-ey-legid-lengi
The winds and currents seem to have brought it further into the fjord, and it could end up traveling more before breaking down completely. But only time will tell.
Humpback whale carcass
Pectoral fin of the whale
