The carcass of a large sperm whale was discovered Tuesday morning on Zikim Beach, inside the Yam Shikma marine nature reserve. According to Evyatar Ben-Avi, a patrol officer with the Nature and Parks Authority’s marine unit, the animal appeared to be a sizable specimen. “I saw a huge fin, and it didn't seem to be moving," he said at the scene.

A necropsy is expected to be conducted to determine the cause of death by the Morris Kahn Laboratory for Marine Research at the Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, together with Matan Benedict from the Delphis association.

Dr. Mia Eleser of Delphis noted that since marine research efforts began in Israel, eight beachings of this species have been documented along the country’s coastline, including this latest incident.

In 2021, the Mediterranean population of sperm whales was classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The most recent estimates place the population at between 250 and 2,500 individuals, with numbers continuing to decline.