Stranding of a minke whale on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, April 2015

AbstractMinke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804, is known as a visitor species in the Mediterranean Sea. On 10 April 2015, a female minke whale stranded in Yumurtalik on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The body length and body weight were measured as 3.55 m and 400 kg, respectively. The carcass was necropsied, however the reason of the stranding was not evident due the advanced stage of decomposition. This is the second case of minke whale stranding in Turkey.