By Trina A. San Agustin
Variety News Staff

THE carcass of a 9-foot false killer whale was found by several fishermen near First Beach in Ipan, Talafofo early yesterday morning.
According to biologist Rodney Tibbits of the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, pushing the carcass back into the open ocean is safe.
The carcass was found stuck on the reef near First Beach by the fishermen at around 2 a.m. yesterday, according to Tibbits.
The men then pushed the carcass to shore.
“The fishermen then contacted us. This is the right thing to do in a situation like this. People will not get in trouble for doing this. As long as they are not taking meat from it, then there is nothing illegal with pushing the carcass to shore,” Tibbits told Variety.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture measured and identified the remains as that of a false killer whale. A beached whale does not happen commonly on Guam.
“Something like this happens every two to three years. With dolphins, it’s more common as they are in the area,” he added.
The whale, according to Tibbits, was probably traveling with a “pod” or herd from the southern hemisphere making their way back from the area where they have their young to their feeding grounds.
The carcass seemed relatively young, according to Tibbits. The carcass also had no signs that its death was caused by humans.
“He probably was just too weak to make the rest of the journey. This species is found more in warmer waters. This species is not common anywhere. They are known to be from here, but not common on Guam,” he added.
Tibbits encouraged residents who see anything strange, such as a carcass or illegal hunting/fishing, to contact their law enforcement section at 735-3989/91.
The false killer whale or pseudorca crassidens is one of the larger members of the oceanic dolphin family.
“It lives in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. It shares characteristics with the more widely known orca the killer whale,” according to Wikipedia.com.
This is the reason why it’s called the “false” killer whale. The two look similar and, like an orca, the false killer whale attacks and kills other cetaceans.
Not much research has gone into the false killer whale and most of the information about this species comes from examining a stranded whale.