52
The Essex Naturalist
Unidentified odontocetes
Occasionally a cetacean is stranded and due to the state of decomposition, cannot
he identified. The following examples have been reported on the Essex coast.
Date Location Sex Length Ref
7/8/1939 East Mersea ? 5.49m FCF
9/8/1956 East Mersea ? 3.66m FCF
9/8/1956 East Mersea ? 4.57m FCF
24/8/1967 Canvey ? 3.05m MCS
25/9/1981 Clacton Sailing Club ? 1.83m MCS
30/6/1992 Shoeburyness ? ? BMNH
26/5/1994 Havengore Creek ? ? BMNH
22/11/1994 Martello Bay, Clacton ? ? BMNH
Discussion
When reviewing details of strandings along the coast, it is tempting to assume
that the results are indicative of the diversity of species in the sea bordering the
county. Sadly this is not the case and the appearance of a rare cetacean (that
may have been dead in the water for some time) on an Essex tideline is likelier
to be due to the tidal currents and wind prevailing in the southern North Sea
rather than evidence of a small population offshore. The species most frequently
reported was the porpoise with 47 strandings - 49% of the total. One hundred
years ago, the porpoise was common (Laver, 1898) and may well have been
under-recorded; today with greater numbers of people visiting the coast,
strandings are more likely to be reported and half of the records for this species
have occurred since 1970. Although porpoises can be observed in all months,
they are normally more evident in coastal waters between July and September
(Evans, 1991) In Essex there have been four sightings of live animals in recent
years - at Bradwell (September, 1990), Colne Point (four in April, 1993), and
in the Thames Estuary (September and December, 1997). The peak of
strandings in April would appear to be an anomaly.
Fig. 1. Porpoise strandings along Essex coastline 1912-1997